Okuzeka
Finance & Banking vocabulary · Banks & Institutions

Central bank

Meaning in finance & banking, with examples

nounCore term

In finance & banking, central bank means: A country's or region's main monetary authority, which issues money, sets the policy interest rate and works to keep prices and the financial system stable.

In Turkish: merkez bankası

How it is used

Appears daily in market news and bank strategy meetings. Central banks raise, cut or hold rates and act as lender of last resort to banks. Examples: the Fed, the ECB, the Bank of England and the CBRT in Türkiye.

Example sentences

  1. The central bank kept its policy rate unchanged at this month's meeting.

  2. Our treasury team follows every central bank statement closely.

Common collocations

  • central bank decision
  • central bank governor
  • central bank reserves
  • independent central bank
  • policy rateThe main interest rate set by a central bank to steer the cost of money in the economy and bring inflation towards its target.
  • interest rateThe price of borrowing money, shown as a percentage of the amount borrowed or saved for a period, usually one year.
  • regulatorA public body that makes and enforces the rules for an industry. Banking regulators license banks, set capital rules and inspect banks.
  • commercial bankA bank that takes deposits from people and businesses and uses them to make loans and offer payment services.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Banks & Institutions

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.