a) The first bankers in Britain were Lombards, ... Lombardy in northern Italy. Merchants and traders from this part of Italy came to do business in the City of London. But ... a century of business in London the Lombards had to leave: they loaned money ... kings who did not repay the loans, and eventually made the bankers bankrupt.
Banking came to be conducted ... the goldsmiths as a sideline to their normal activities. Soon merchants, landowners, and other well-to-do .people also started practising banking.
Banking developed, but Lombard Street, a narrow street in the City of London where Italian bankers settled ... in the fifteenth century, is still the centre ... British banking. Many of Britain's best-known banks have their head offices ... Lombard Street. The English banking system is a tripartite system. The three parts are:
a) The Bank of England, a "State Bank";
b) The commercial, or joint-stock banks, which deal ... the general public;
c) Specialized banking institutions, such as the discount houses and merchant banks.
The place of the commercial banks in the British economy is a very important one. They stand ... the very centre of business activity and can promote prosperity or deflate the economy into unemployment.
Commercial banks are most visible ... the general public. Their main business is taking ... deposits and making loans to individuals and industry. This business is conducted ... a network of branches.
They are commercial in two senses: they make loans to commerce (to finance trade) and they are themselves commercial profit-oriented businesses.
Words you may need:
Lombardsломбардцы
merchantn купец
goldsmithn золотых дел мастер
sidelinen побочный, дополнительный бизнес
tripartiteadj состоящий из трех частей
discount houseучетный дом
merchant bankторговый банк
to promote prosperityспособствовать процветанию
to deflate the economy(зд.) сократить денежную массу в обращении