Questions asked by a bank manager to a customer/client seeking a loan or overdraft

1. How much do you need? or How much are you looking for? or What sort of figure are we talking about? or (more formally) How much do you want to borrow?

2. Why do you need the loan? or What do you have in mind?

3. How are you going to pay back the loan? We'd like to see you making regular reductions.

4. What security can you offer? Have you any freehold or leasehold property? We'd prefer it to be uncharged/without a mortgage. We'd like to hold the deeds at the bank.

5. As it's a loan to a company we'll need to ask the directors to sign personal guarantees.

6. Can you let me see a copy of the latest accounts – the profit and loss account and the balance sheet?

7. I'm sorry to tell you your application for a loan has been rejected.

8. I'm pleased to tell you your application for an overdraft has been granted. We've put a limit of £2,500 on the account for a period of three months. Is that enough? the rate of interest will be 3% above the base rate.

9. I notice you haven't made any reductions on your loan account for the past few months. If you don't do something about it within the next three days I shall have to call in your loan. What's the explanation for the delay?

10. There are various forms to sign. Would you mind signing here... and here... Thank you.

Queries from a customer

1. Would you let me know the balance on my account please?

2. Would you kindly send me my statement of account?

3. I haven't received my statement of account this month. It usually comes on the 13th. Will you look into it for me please?

4. I'd like to open a cheque account please. What do I have to do?

5. I'd like it to be in the joint names of myself and my wife. Do we both have to sign?

6. I'd like to transfer £5,000 from my current account to a new deposit account. What's the rate of interest now? How much notice do you need for withdrawals?

7. I'd like to speak to the manager please – about a loan. Do I have to make an appointment?

8. The company will be short of funds for a few months. Can I have an overdraft please?

9. I put my card into the cash dispensing machine but it was rejected. Can you tell me what happened?

10. Unfortunately a cheque has gone astray in the post and I'd like to stop payment. Can you check that it hasn't already been paid?

11. I'm going on holiday and I need some Swiss francs. What is the latest rate of exchange? How much commission do you charge?

12. Can you tell me the minimum balance I have to keep in my account to void paying charges?

Questions and answers

1. – I want to change some English money into French francs. Can you help me? – Certainly, sir. The exchange rate today is 1.53 francs to the pound. How much do you want to exchange?

2. – I'd like to transfer some money to my account in London please. – You have an account here, madam? How urgent is it? Would you like us to send it by mail transfer?

3. – Can you tell me whether my account has been credited with the dividend for my 3,5% War Loan? It was due on the 1st. – I’ll check it for you sir ... Yes, your account was credited with £108.75 from the Bank of England on the 3rd.

4. – How long does it take for a cheque to clear? I paid the cheque into the account on Friday. – Unless it's a local cheque it will take a full five working days to clear. That means we should be able to treat it as paid by this time next week.

Section L. Text for home translation

Your task: Give full written translation of the text with analysis of translation techniques. Pay special attention to the highlighted words and phrases. While translating, complete your glossary on the topic.

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The Central Bank of Russia Today In December 2003, the Federal Law "On Insurance of Individual Bank Deposits in the Russian Federation" was adopted. The law stipulates the legal, financial and organisational framework for the system of mandatory insurance of individual bank deposits in the Russian Federation, and also the powers, procedure for the establishment and operation of an institution which performs functions of mandatory deposit insurance, and the procedure of deposit compensation payments. In the follow-up of the provisions of this law, in January 2004, the Bank of Russia elaborated regulations, which define the procedure of assessing banks' eligibility for participation in the deposit insurance system. Today the Bank of Russia pays enhanced attention to some problems. One of such problems is that specific risks linked with the price dynamics of some financial assets and the situation on the real estate market have begun to play an increasingly important role recently. The practice of lending money by some banks to related parties leads to the high concentration of risks. In this connection, the Bank of Russia is developing substantive (risk-oriented) banking supervision techniques in its efforts to improve the methods of banking regulation and supervision. Banks' fictitious capitalisation is another problem, to which the Bank of Russia pays close attention. In 2004, the Bank of Russia adopted some documents, including the Regulation “On the Procedure of the Formation of Reserves by Credit Institutions for Possible Losses on Loans” and the Instruction "On Banks' Required Ratios" to fight banks' various schemes of artificially overrating or underrating the value of required ratios. Due to the expansion of the range of credit institutions, which provide mortgage loans to households, in 2003 the Bank of Russia issued its Ordinance "On One-Off Mortgage Lending Surveying" to define the procedure for credit institutions to compile and submit reports on housing mortgage loans provided by them. With the adoption of the Federal Law "On Mortgage Securities," credit institutions ensuring the compliance with the requirements for the protection of investors' interests got a possibility to refinance their claims on mortgage loans through the issue of such securities on a legal basis. In 2004, pursuant to the Federal Law "On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)" and the Federal Law "On Mortgage Securities," the Bank of Russia issued its Instruction "On Required Ratios for Credit Institutions Issuing Mortgage-Backed Bonds." This Instruction defined the specifics of calculation and the values of required ratios, the size and the methods of determining additional required ratios for credit institutions, which issue mortgage-backed bonds.

Section M. Interview

Act as an interpreter. Translate questions from English into Russian and answers from Russian into English. Translations of words and phrases which have been highlighted are offered after the text in sub-section “Notes”.