wikiHow Glossary of Banking Business Terms * Bank charter: A legal document that authorizes a bank to operate. * Capital requirement: The amount of money that a bank must have in order to start and operate. * Deposit insurance: A type of insurance that protects customers' deposits in case the bank fails. * FDIC: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a US government agency that provides deposit insurance to banks. * Financial institution: A company that provides financial services, such as banks, credit unions, and savings and loan associations. * Holding company: A type of company that owns and controls other companies, such as a bank holding company that owns one or more banks. * Liquidity: The ability of a bank to meet its financial obligations in a timely manner. * OCC: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a US government agency that charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks. * Reserve requirements: The amount of money that a bank is required to hold in reserve, either with the central bank or in its own vaults, in order to ensure it has enough money to cover potential withdrawals. * Underwriting: The process of evaluating and assessing the risk of issuing loans or other financial products. * Vault: A secure storage area where a bank keeps its cash and other valuable assets. * Core banking system: The software system that manages a bank's day-to-day operations, such as processing transactions and managing customer accounts. * Anti-money laundering (AML) program: A set of policies and procedures that a bank must follow to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. * Know Your Customer (KYC): The process of verifying the identity of a bank's customers in order to prevent fraud and comply with anti-money laundering regulations. * Compliance: The process of ensuring that a bank is following all applicable laws and regulations. Page