banking terms

                                              BANKING TERMS

Adverse Action Notice: The notice required by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act advising a credit applicant or existing debtor of the denial of their request for credit or advising of a change in terms considered unfavorable to the account holder.

AER: Annual earnings rate on an investment.

Affidavit: A sworn statement in writing before a proper official, such as a notary public.

Alteration: Any change involving an erasure or rewriting in the date, amount, or payee of a check or other negotiable instrument.

Amortization: The process of reducing debt through regular installment payments of principal and interest that will result in the payoff of a loan at its maturity.

Anytime Banking: With introduction of ATMs, Tele-Banking and internet banking, customers can conduct their business anytime of the day and night. The 'Banking Hours' is not a constraint for transacting banking business.

Anywhere Banking : Refers to banking not only by ATMs, Tele-Banking and internet banking, but also to core banking solutions brought in by banks where customer can deposit his money, cheques and also withdraw money from any branch connected with the system. All major banks in India have brought in core banking in their operations to make banking truly anywhere banking.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR): The cost of credit on a yearly basis, expressed as a percentage.

Annual Percentage Yield (APY): A percentage rate reflecting the total amount of interest paid on a deposit account based on the interest rate and the frequency of compounding for a 365-day year.

Annuity : A life insurance product which pays income over the course of a set period. Deferred annuities allow assets to grow before the income is received and immediate annuities (usually taken from a year after purchase) allow payments to start from about a year after purchase.

APR:  The annual percentage rate of interest, usually on a loan or mortgage, usually displayed in brackets and representing the true cost of the loan or mortgage as it shows any additional payments beyond the interest rate.

Application: Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), an oral or written request for an extension of credit that is made in accordance with the procedures established by a creditor for the type of credit requested.

Appraisal: The act of evaluating and setting the value of a specific piece of personal or real property.

Ask Price: The lowest price at which a dealer is willing to sell a given security.

Asset-Backed Securities (ABS): A type of security that is backed by a pool of bank loans, leases, and other assets. Most ABS are backed by auto loans and credit cards – these issues are very similar to mortgage-backed securities.