Wholesale Banking

A bank that deals only in checking and savings accounts, things you might use, is steering clear of what we call wholesale banking. Wholesale banking is the bank for large firms. They do stuff like underwriting IPOs and secondary offerings, investment consulting, giving out large lines of credit, and providing credit card services (ever been offered a credit card by a department or grocery store?).

Wholesale banking is also an attractive option for those with serious wealth who deal with buying and selling property and share complex capital needs. Rather than having their finance dealings spread across multiple types of financial businesses, they can keep it together under one roof. Wholesale banking is like Walmart-in-a-suit for big finance: a one-stop shop where you can get just about anything.

See: Bulge Bracket.