commercial bank

American  

noun

1. a bank specializing in checking accounts and short-term loans.

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commercial bank British  

noun

1. a bank primarily engaged in making short-term loans from funds deposited in current accounts

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Etymology

Origin of commercial bank

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Notably, Affirm is moving to become an industrial loan company rather than a commercial bank.

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026

The deal will make the Madrid-headquartered firm the tenth largest retail and commercial bank in the U.S. by assets, and the fifth largest by deposits in the Northeast.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 4, 2026

In addition to Ripple, Coinbase and the U.K. payments company Wise, other applicants for trust charters include Sony Bank, a Japanese commercial bank whose parent company is partially owned by the electronics and entertainment conglomerate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the loan, from a commercial bank, would protect jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside and across the UK.

From BBC • Sep. 27, 2025

Latvia's largely unregulated financial sector suffered a series of bank failures, including the collapse of the country's largest commercial bank - Bank Baltija - due largely to criminal activity by the owners.

From The 1996 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency