Chong Hing Bank (CHB) offers retail and wholesale banking services and products, including deposit accounts, mortgage and automobile loans, corporate banking, and trade financing. The company has approximately 50 branches in Hong Kong and a handful of branches and representative offices in China and the US. Through subsidiaries, CHB also offers insurance and re-insurance investment services, securities trading, and commodities. Its Chong Hing Securities unit offers MPF (pension fund) services. The managing Liu family founded CHB as Liu Chong Hing Bank in 1948.

Akbank T.A.S. provides banking services in Turkey through more than 715 branches, almost 2,000 ATMs, and more than 250,000 point-of-sale terminals. Internationally Akbank operates branches in Germany and in Malta; it also has a subsidiary bank in the Netherlands. Akbank, which is Turkey's second-largest publicly traded bank after Is Bankasi, also provides private bank and international trade finance services. Subsidiaries provide non-banking financial, capital-market, and investment services. The Sabanci family and its companies control 55% of Akbank.

Bangor Savings Bank has been serving Maine for more than 150 years. In addition to traditional deposit and lending services, the bank also provides credit cards, insurance, and trust and investment management services. Residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans make up most of its loan portfolio; consumer, business, construction, and land development loans round out its lending activities. The bank's Bangor Payroll unit performs payroll management and tax services for more than 1,000 small business clients.

Horizon Bancorp is on the up-and-up. It's the holding company for Horizon Bank, which serves northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan through more than 20 branches. It provides local individuals and businesses such standard services as checking and savings accounts, IRAs, CDs, and credit cards. Commercial, financial, and agricultural loans make up the largest segment of Horizon's loan portfolio, which also includes mortgage warehouse loans (loans earmarked for sale into the secondary market), consumer installment loans, and residential mortgages. Through subsidiaries, the bank offers trust and investment management services, life and health insurance, property/casualty coverage, and annuities.

BB&T, the banking company that covers the Southeast like kudzu. The company serves consumers, small to midsized businesses, and government entities through more than 1,800 branches. Its flagship subsidiary, Branch Banking and Trust (also known as BB&T), is one of North Carolina's oldest banks and a leading originator of residential mortgages in the Southeast. In addition to deposit accounts and loans, the company offers insurance, mutual funds, discount brokerage, wealth management, and financial planning services. Business services include leasing, factoring, and investment banking (through Scott & Stringfellow).

"TG" may sound like a college fraternity, but it's more about tuition and books than togas and beer. Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation, commonly known as TG, was formed by the Texas legislature in 1979 to administer the Federal Family Education Loan Program in the Lone Star State. The public not-for-profit corporation helps facilitate the loan process and guarantees payment of loans to its more than 300 originating lenders. It also awards more than $1 million in grants to students and programs each year. Annually it works with around 900 public and private colleges and helps some 875,000 students achieve a post-secondary education. TG's income comes from loan fees and it receives no state funding.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV) provides a variety of financial services, primarily to customers in the canton of Vaud in southwestern Switzerland. With about 70 retail locations, it offers commercial, corporate, and private banking services, as well as wealth management and securities brokerage. The bank is dedicated to the canton's development and in fact does business with some two-thirds of Vaud's small and midsized enterprises. The Vaud government owns more than half of BCV, which was originally founded in 1845.

Established in 2002 to consolidate the operations of E.Sun Bank and other subsidiaries, E.Sun provides commercial banking, venture capital, securities trading, and other financial services to businesses and individuals throughout the country. The group depends on commercial banking services for its bread and butter (90% of annual revenues) and carries out additional financial operations through six subsidiaries. An attempt to acquire Taiwan Business Bank in 2005 broke down amid union protests. A year later the group allied with Singapore's Temasek which would eventually control 6% through Fullerton Financial Holdings.

Societe Generale wants to be top brass in the French banking industry. The bank (familiarly known as SocGen) commands a three-pronged campaign, with operations in global investment management (including SG Private Banking and majority-owned online brokerage Boursorama); retail banking and specialized financial services, including finance, leasing, and insurance; and corporate and investment banking, focusing on European capital markets, derivatives, and structured finance. In the US, the company controls asset manager The TCW Group. SocGen has about 3,000 branches in France (including its Credit du Nord division), and some 5,300 locations worldwide.

Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg (LBBW) acts as the central bank to savings banks in the German states of Baden-Wurttemberg, Rhineland Palatinate, and Saxony. The bank handles large transactions (wholesale banking, financial securities, foreign exchange) too costly for the smaller state savings banks. Through its regional banks, Baden Wurttembergische Bank, and Sachsen Bank and Rheinland-Pfalz Bank, LBBW also provides traditional retail banking services such as real estate and commercial loans, and portfolio management at more than 200 branches. Other subsidiaries provide leasing, factoring, venture capital, and equity financing services.

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