The most basic and most reflective functions of a commercial bank are:

Originally, a commercial bank was an intermediary institution that granted and received credit, so credit intermediary is the most basic function that can best reflect the characteristics of its business activities.

c Answer Analysis:

Analysis] A commercial bank is originally an intermediary institution for granting and receiving credit, therefore, credit intermediary is the most basic function that can best reflect the characteristics of its business activities: Commercial banks concentrate all kinds of idle funds in the society through fiduciary business to form bank liabilities; Through credit business, commercial banks also invest funds in various social and economic fields to form bank assets.

The main functions of commercial banks are: (1) credit intermediary functions. The credit intermediary function of commercial banks is the most basic function of commercial banks that can best reflect the characteristics of their business activities.

The essence of this function is to concentrate all kinds of idle funds in society into the banks through the bank's liability business, and then invest it in various social and economic departments and industries through the asset business, so as to increase the productive capacity of the national economy.

2) Payment intermediary function. The payment intermediary function of commercial banks means that on the basis of absorbing deposits, commercial banks realize the transfer of deposits in accounts by providing payment tools to customers, so as to settle the claims and debts between customers, and at the same time pay cash for customers. This has enabled commercial banks to become custodians of slag and wide currency deposits, cashiers and payers of industrial and commercial enterprises, groups and individuals.

On this basis, it has gradually developed valet custody, jewelry, valuable and other charging services. (3) Credit creation function. Commercial banks can absorb all kinds of deposits, and use the various deposits they absorb to issue loans, on the basis of check circulation and transfer settlement, loans can be converted into deposits, on the basis of deposits do not withdraw cash or do not fully withdraw, it increases the funds of commercial banks, and finally in the entire banking system, the formation of several times the original deposits of derivative deposits, this is the credit creation function of commercial banks.

4) Financial Services Functions. With the development of the economy, the business environment of industrial and commercial enterprises has become increasingly complex, and the business competition between banks has become increasingly fierce. In particular, the widespread application of computer and network technology in banking business has enabled commercial banks to provide customers with a variety of financial services.

On the basis of the traditional business of receiving and paying money and paying various expenses for enterprises, it has developed consulting services, financial services such as brightness, financing services and salary payment for business decisions, and provides transfer, credit, trust and brokerage services for individual consumers. (5) Regulate economic functions. The function of regulating the economy refers to the adjustment of the capital shortage of various sectors of society by commercial banks through their credit intermediary activities, and at the same time, under the guidance of the monetary policy of the first bank and other macroeconomic policies of the state, to achieve the adjustment of the economic structure, consumption proportion investment, industrial structure and other aspects.

In addition, commercial banks can also regulate their own balance of payments through their financing activities in the international market.

Credit intermediary is the most basic function of a commercial bank that can best reflect the characteristics of its business activities. The essence of this function is to concentrate all kinds of idle money in society into the banks through the bank's liability business, and then invest it in all sectors of the economy through the collapse of assets.

Commercial banks act as intermediaries or representatives of lenders and investors of monetary capital, realize the financing of capital, and obtain profit income from the difference between the cost of absorbing funds and the interest income from loans issued and investment income, and form bank profits. Commercial banks became "big businessmen" who bought and sold "capital goods". The commercial banks realize the financing between capital surpluses and shortages through the function of credit intermediaries, and do not change the ownership of monetary capital, but only the right to use monetary capital.

The most basic characteristic of a commercial bank that best reflects its business activities is credit intermediation.

Initial use"Commercial Banks"This concept is because this type of bank only undertakes in the early stage of development"Business"Short-term lending business. The period of the loan is generally not more than one year, and the loan objects are generally businessmen and import and export merchants.

People refer to this kind of bank, which mainly absorbs short-term deposits and issues short-term commercial loans as its basic business, as a commercial bank. Commercial banks in China refer to corporate legal persons established in accordance with the Commercial Bank Law of the People's Republic of China and the Company Law of the People's Republic of China to absorb deposits from the public, issue loans, and handle settlements.

Banks are one of the most important financial institutions in the economy. The primitive state of the banking industry in the West can be traced back to ancient Babylon BC and the period of ancient civilizations. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, there was one in Babylon as early as the 6th century BC"Rigibbe"Bank.

Archaeologists have found stone tablets in the Arabian Desert to prove that the monasteries of Babylon had made money before 2000 B.C., and that the loans were made in the form of a promissory note issued by the debtor, which was received by the monastery and was transferable. In the 4th century B.C., monasteries, public bodies, and private firms in Greece were also engaged in various financial activities. However, this activity is limited to the nature of the currency exchange business, and there is no lending business.

In 200 B.C., Rome also had institutions similar to the Greek banking industry, but it was more advanced than the Greek banking industry, which not only operated currency exchange business, but also operated loan and trust business, and at the same time also had clear legal provisions for the management and supervision of banks. Although the business of the banking industry in Rome is not a credit lending, it has the rudiments of modern banking business.

1. Commercial banks have special interests in their operations. The first is to get benefits from the characteristics of the industry, that is, there is no need to invest a lot of its own capital to carry out business activities, and considerable benefits can be obtained; The second is the benefits derived from state intervention and close relations with state power.

2. There are also special risks in the operation of commercial banks.

The first is credit risk. That is, the possibility that the borrower is unable or unwilling to repay the loan on time and the bank suffers losses.

The second is business risk. When there is an imbalance in the arrangement of the bank's assets and liabilities in terms of total volume or term structure, it will directly cause the bank's operational risks.

The third is the risk of credibility. Banks are able to absorb different maturities and different amounts of money based on the public's trust in the bank, and once the public trust is lost, there will be a run on deposits, and when the bank is unable to cope with the run on many depositors, bankruptcy is inevitable.

Fourth, competition risk. Today, electronic technology has been widely used in the research and development of banking business, the speed of information dissemination is accelerating, and the banking industry will face more extensive competition in the operation, management, and other factors contained in the products provided.

The main characteristics of the business activities of commercial banks are the absorption of deposits, the issuance of loans, and the acquisition of intermediary business income.

Commercial Bank, abbreviated as CB in English, is a popular homonym for "deposit", which means storage bank. The concept of commercial bank is different from the first bank and investment bank, which is a financial institution with the function of credit creation for the purpose of making profits, raising funds with a variety of financial liabilities and a variety of financial assets. The general commercial banks do not have the right to issue money, and the business of traditional commercial banks is mainly concentrated on the operation of deposits and loans (lending) business, that is, borrowing deposits at a lower interest rate and lending loans at a higher interest rate, and the interest rate difference between deposits and loans is the main profit of commercial banks.

The main business scope of commercial banks includes taking deposits from the public, enterprises and institutions, issuing loans, discounting bills and intermediary business. It is a savings institution rather than an investment institution.

The characteristics of commercial banks are as follows: (1) Commercial banks, like general industrial and commercial enterprises, are profit-oriented enterprises. It also has its own capital required to engage in business operations, operates in accordance with the law, pays taxes according to regulations, and is responsible for its own profits and losses, and it is the same as other enterprises, with profit as the goal.

2) Commercial banks are special enterprises that are different from general industrial and commercial enterprises. Its particularity is embodied in the differences in business objects. Industrial and commercial enterprises are engaged in the production and circulation of commodities with certain use value; Commercial banks, on the other hand, take financial assets and financial liabilities as their business objects, and deal in special commodities1. Money and monetary capital.

The business includes money receipts and payments, loans and various financial services related to or related to monetary movements. From the point of view of the process of social reproduction, the operation of commercial banks is the condition for the operation of industrial and commercial enterprises. The difference between commercial banks and ordinary industrial and commercial enterprises makes commercial banks a special kind of enterprise -- financial enterprises.

3) Commercial banks are different from specialized banks. The business of commercial banks is more comprehensive and functional, operating all financial "retail" business (store services) and "wholesale business" (large-amount credit business), providing customers with all financial services. Specialized banks, on the other hand, only concentrate on the operation of businesses and provide specialized services within a specified area.

With the deregulation of financial regulations in Western countries, the business scope of professional banks is also expanding, but compared with commercial banks, there is still a long gap. Commercial banks have an advantage in business operations.

The functions of a commercial bank are determined by its nature, and there are five main functions:

Regulate the economy. Economic regulation refers to the adjustment of the economic structure, the proportion of consumption investment, and the industrial structure under the guidance of the central bank's monetary policy and the macroeconomic policies of other countries through its credit intermediary activities, and at the same time to achieve adjustment in terms of economic structure, consumption proportion, investment, and industrial structure under the guidance of the central bank's monetary policy and other countries. In addition, commercial banks can also regulate their own balance of payments through their financing activities in the international market.

Credit creation. On the basis of the functions of credit intermediary and payment intermediation, commercial banks have created the function of credit creation. Commercial banks are banks that can absorb all kinds of deposits, and use the various deposits they absorb to issue loans, on the basis of check circulation and transfer settlement, loans are derived into deposits, and on the basis of such deposits not withdrawing cash or incomplete withdrawals, the funds of commercial banks are increased, and finally in the entire banking system, derivative deposits several times the original deposits are formed.

Credit intermediaries. Credit intermediary is the most basic function of a commercial bank that can best reflect the characteristics of its business activities. The essence of this function is to concentrate all kinds of idle money in society into the banks through the bank's liability business, and then invest it in all sectors of the economy through the asset business. Commercial banks act as intermediaries or representatives of lenders and borrowers of monetary capital, realize the financing of capital, and obtain profit income from the difference between the cost of absorbing funds and the interest income from loans issued and investment income, thus forming bank profits.

Payment intermediaries. In addition to acting as credit intermediaries and financing monetary capital, commercial banks also perform the functions of monetary management. Through the transfer of deposits on the account, the customer pays, and on the basis of the deposit, the customer pays cash, etc., and becomes the currency custodian, cashier and payer of industrial and commercial enterprises, groups and individuals.

Financial services. Under the strong power of business competition, the commercial banks have also continued to expand their service areas, further promoted the expansion of their asset-liability business through the development of their financial services, and combined their asset-liability business with financial services to open up new business areas. In modern economic life, financial services have become an important function of commercial banks.

Answers]: a, c, d

Option B, the credit intermediary function of commercial banks, overcomes the limitations of the borrower and the borrower receiving the loan directly, and it is not easy to reach agreement in the amount, time and space of the loan, and it is not easy to understand the borrower's credit. Option E, the entire bank system indirectly expands the scale of social credit through financial service functions.

Answer]: A commercial bank may refer to a financial enterprise that can absorb a variety of businesses such as deposits, negotiations, loans, and settlements from the public, and operate currency with the main business goal of making a profit.