section_path: Regulation
section_name: Regulation
paragraph_text: Regulation
  
  Currently, commercial banks are regulated in most jurisdictions by government entities and require a special bank license to operate.
  
  Usually, the definition of the business of banking for the purposes of regulation is extended to include acceptance of deposits, even if they are not repayable to the customer's order – although money lending, by itself, is generally not included in the definition.
  
  Unlike most other regulated industries, the regulator is typically also a participant in the market, being either publicly or privately governed central bank. Central banks also typically have a monopoly on the business of issuing banknotes. However, in some countries, this is not the case. In the UK, for example, the Financial Services Authority licenses banks, and some commercial banks (such as the Bank of Scotland) issue their own banknotes in addition to those issued by the Bank of England, the UK government's central bank.
  
  Banking law is based on a contractual analysis of the relationship between the bank (defined above) and the customer – defined as any entity for which the bank agrees to conduct an account.
  
  The law implies rights and obligations into this relationship as follows:
  
  These implied contractual terms may be modified by express agreement between the customer and the bank. The statutes and regulations in force within a particular jurisdiction may also modify the above terms or create new rights, obligations, or limitations relevant to the bank-customer relationship.
  
  Some types of financial institutions, such as building societies and credit unions, may be partly or wholly exempt from bank license requirements, and therefore regulated under separate rules.
  
  The requirements for the issue of a bank license vary between jurisdictions but typically include: