UNIT 12: BANKING

LISTENING 1:
A: Good afternoon. UBE Bank helpline. Can I help you?
B: Yes, I hope so. I am having problems with online banking.
A: What is the problem?
B: I have a password but it doesn't work.
A: OK. First I need your name.
B: Yes, it is Anish Chatterjee. That's A-N-I-S-H C-H-A-T-T-E-R-J-E-E.
A: Your password has five letters and two numbers.
B: Yes, that is right.
A: OK. First go to 'Log in' and put in your password.
B: OK, I'll do that now. And then?
A: After that click on 'Proceed' and you will see the page for your account.
B: Ah, I click on 'Proceed'. Yes, here is the page...
A: Next, do you see the information on the right? It asks you what you want to do.
B: Yes, I see it. I want to look at my statement.
A: Then click on the button for 'Statement'. Do you see it now?
B: Yes, I do.
A: Good. Is there anything else?
B: No, I think I am all right now. And at the end I log out - is that right?
A: Yes. That's it.
B: Thank you so much.
A: No problem. Call anytime you need help. That's why we're here. Goodbye. B: B: Goodbye.
LISTENING 2:
1)
A:Good morning, Ms Wichinski. I have a question for you. If I wanted to buy goods from
Indonesia and import them to Poland, what would I need to do?
B: Do you have the information about the seller with you, Mr Kosnik?
A: Yes, here it is. Ameyah Batak. The company is in Jakarta. Here is the full address and the
details of the goods I plan to import.
B: Very good. It looks like you need a letter of credit. I will start work on this right away.
A: Thank you very much.
2)
A: Good afternoon, Mr Ferrando. I have asked you to come and talk to me because I have some
questions about your cash flow statement and the loan application you made with us.
B: Is there a problem?
A: Well, we are looking carefully at your revenues and expenses because we are worried about
your ability to pay debts. In addition, the amount of money you owe seems to be quite high.
B: Yes, but if you look at our income statement, you will see that our net profit margin is higher
this year than last year.
A: I see. If you gave us your income statements for the past several years, we would have a
better idea of your company's situation. I am sure we will come to an agreement once we have all
the facts.
3)
A: Ms Park. How can I help you today?
B: I wanted to speak to you about our business plans. A business adviser told me that if we had
the chance to buy several new shops, we should do this. What do you think?
A: Well, you have been very successful in the last year, so I think it would be a good idea.
B: And if I needed a credit line or a loan, would you be able to help me?
A: Of course. I know your company well and I am sure we can find the best solution for you.
Why don't we take a look at the figures?
LISTENING 3:
[J = Julia; R = Robert)
J: Good morning. Welcome to our TV news show about the economy. I am here with Robert
Jones, who is going to tell us about ways to help the economy grow.
R: Good morning, Julia. Nice to be here. Well, there are different ways to help the economy
when it has been having growth problems. You know one of the duties of a central bank is to
regulate interest rates, for example by lowering them. Borrowers who have been paying high
interest rates suddenly have lower instalment payments.
J: How does this help?
R: This can stimulate the economy because these people have more money to spend. Others who
have been wanting to make investments can now borrow money more cheaply.
J: Does it happen immediately?
R: After the central bank has lowered the interest rates, it takes about two or three quarters until
this helps the economy. One problem is that the currency of a country may also lose value. In
addition, growth stimulated by more money in the system can lead to inflation.
J: And what can governments do?
R: The government can spend money on stimulus measures like building schools and highways,
or putting money into the public transport system. This creates jobs, and when people are
working. the economy can begin to grow again. The problem here is that the government will
then owe money which has to be repaid.
J: Anything else?
R: Another way relies on laws and regulations by the government such as lowering taxes and so
on...
LISTENING 4: Same as above
LISTENING 5:
[C - Caroline; M = Manager)
C: Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about an account.
M: Yes, of course. What do you want to know?
C: Mr Müller often overdraws his account. This happens about every two months, when his
expenses are higher than his income.
M: Yes, I see. Does he cover his overdraft regularly?
C: Yes, he does. He always deposits enough money to be in the black again.
M: Is the overdraft authorised? Does he also have to pay penalties when he overdraws his
account?
C: He has an overdraft facility of 2,500 euros a month, so he doesn't have to pay bank charges.
But he must pay interest when he is over that amount.
M: Does he know that he mustn't go over the limit?
C: Yes, he does, but his expenses are high. And then he has to pay interest on the overdraft.
When his overdraft lasts for several weeks, it is expensive for him.
M: Yes, that's true. We charge more on overdrafts than on loans.
C: So isn't it better for him to apply for a personal loan?
M: Yes, I think so. It seems he has a cash flow problem. Do you want to talk to him about this?
C: OK. I can give him an application form and send him to a loan officer to talk about the terms
and the instalments. We can suggest an appointment on Friday.