Lesson 12

Task 1. Complete the text with the words in the box.

1. a central bank	5. the deposit of money	9. banking system	13. securities	17. lends and borrows
2. financial services	6. gold reserve	10. to provide	14. the national debt	18. exchange transactions
3. institutions	7. current accounts	11. the general public	15. customers	19. consortium
4. individuals	8. tripartite system	12. cards	16. was established	20. loans

English Bank

Today the British banking is a complicated ( 8 ) like a three-layer cake. The system is headed by the Bank of England. This bank ( 16 ) under a Royal Charter in 1694.

The head of the Bank is Governor of the Bank appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Queen also appoints Deputy Governor and the Court of Directors, which consists of 16 directors.

The Bank of England is ( 1 ) or a national bank. It controls the British ( 9 ), issues banknotes and mints coins. It ( 17 ) money for the government, manages ( 14 ) and is in the control of the nation's ( 6 ). The other two layers are:

1) the commercial or joint stock clearing banks;

2) specialized banking ( 3 ) such as the discount houses and merchant banks.

The commercial or joint-stock banks deal with ( 11 ). The four large English commercial banks are known as the Big Four.

They are Barclays, Lloyds, the Midland, and the National Westminster. All the major foreign banks are represented in the UK by subsidiary, branch, representative offices or ( 19 ).

They provide finance both in sterling and in other currencies and offer a wide range of ( 2 ). Lombard Street is the symbol of British banking.

This is the place where the first bankers coming from Italy settled. Together they have upwards of 10,000 branches. Commercial banks render various services to companies and ( 4 ).

Some of the services are:

• to receive or accept from their customers ( 5 );

• to collect and transfer money both at home and abroad against deposit and ( 7 );

• ( 10 ) overdrafts to both personal and business customers;

• to lend ( 20 ) to their customers;

• to exchange money;

• to make foreign ( 18 ), forward transactions and swap transactions;

• to issue various banker's ( 12 ).

Merchant banks and discount houses deal only with special customers providing funds for special purposes.

They accept commercial bills of exchange and offer quite a lot of financial services. They provide advisory services about new issues of ( 13 ), mergers, takeovers and reorganizations.

They also arrange financing for their ( 15 ) and provide fund-management services. Besides there is a big group of banks in the United Kingdom made up of foreign banks.

Task 2. Match each of the words or phrases on the left to an appropriate definition.

1 challenge g	a) to discuss prices, conditions, etc. with sb in order to reach an agreement that suits each person
2 competitive i	b) 1) to gradually grow or become bigger, stronger, etc. 2) to make sth bigger, better, more advanced, etc.
3 employee h	c) the money that you make when you sell sth for more than it cost you
4 interest j	d) the amount that a company sells of its products or services compared with other companies selling the same things
5 sales f	e) 1) a plan that you use in order to achieve sth 2) the process of planning sth or carrying out a plan in a skilful way
6 bargain a	f) the number of items sold
7 develop b	g) something new and difficult that forces you to make a lot of effort
8 strategy e	h) a person who is paid to work for sb else
9 profit c	i) able to be as successful as or more successful than others
10 market share d	j) the money that you pay for borrowing money from a bank, etc. or the money that you earn when you keep money in a bank

Task 3. Fill in the blanks using the word combinations given below, translate the letter.

Letter 1.

( b ) 19 November ( d ) our name as a reference in your transaction with Electrical Supplies Ltd.

( f ) we have done business together you have been ( a ). If your suppliers decide to approach us for a reference ( c ) to support your request for credit facilities.

( e )

a) a very reliable customer

b) thank you for your letter of

c) we shall be very happy

d) requesting permission to use

e) yours sincerely

f) during the time

Letter 2.

Mrs Phyllis Naish, your Personnel Officer, has told me that you have a vacancy for a Marketing Assistant. I should like ( c ).

As you will see ( f ) I have several A levels as well as secretarial qualifications gained during an intensive one-year course at Walthamstow College of Commerce.

I have been Shorthand Typist in the Marketing Department of Enterprise Cables Ltd for 2 years and have been very happy there, ( b ). However the office is quite small and I now wish to widen my experience and hopefully ( e ).

My former headmistress has written ( a ) and has kindly agreed to give further details should they be needed. If you are interested in my application my present employer has agreed ( d ).

I am able to attend an interview at any time and hope to hear from you soon.

a) the enclosed testimonial

b) gaining a lot of valuable experience

c) to be considered for this post

d) to provide further information

e) improve my prospects

f) from my enclosed curriculum vitae

Task 4. Choose the correct variant.

1. Television has many advantages. It keeps us informed about the latest news, and also ... entertainment at home.

a) provide

c) is provided

b) provides

d) provided

2. On the other hand television ... for the violent behaviour of some young people, and for encouraging children to sit indoors, instead of doing sports.

a) blames

c) is blamed

b) blamed

d) would blame

3. Some millionaires have lots of money and ... what to do with it.

a) don't know

c) won't know

b) didn't

d) knows

4.As soon as the taxi arrives, I ... you know.

a) let

c) had let

b) have let

d) will let

5.When was this building finished? - They say it ... by the end of last year.

a) had been finished

c) will be finished

b) was finished

d) finishes

6.You ... an umbrella when you left the house, didn't you?

a) have

c) had had

b) was having

d) had

7.By the time we got to the cinema the film ... .

a) will begin

c) had begun

b) would begin

d) began

8.Someone is calling you. Will you answer ... phone?

a) a

c) -

b) the

d) these

9. The police officer said that every house in that street ... already by the police.

a) search

c) had been searched

b) were searched

d) searched

10. There is going to be a big art exhibition. It... a lot of visitors.

a) attracts

c) has attracted

b) will attract

d) attracted

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