banc

Noun. Marketing slang (chiefly in USA) for the non-banking arms of a financial conglomerate that has "Bank" in its common name. For instance, if the original company was known as Bank of Manhattan, then its insurance business might be known as "Banc of Manhattan Insurance". It is a term of art, a meaningless word, that is meant to suggest the safety and soundness of a bank, without any actual representation of safety or soundness so that they are free to offer risky products without running afoul of false advertising laws.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.