#Functions of banks.# Almost every bank performs various functions useful to its customers, but some of which are not essentially bound up with banking, and may be performed by institutions that are not truly banks.

Among these are: (a) Maintaining a safe deposit vault, where space may be rented by an individual to keep his valuable papers, jewels, etc.

The customer does not usually deliver to the bank possession of the valuables, but himself retains the key to the box which the bank has no right to open.

In larger cities this work is often done by separate institutions.
(b) Acting as money-changer to buy and sell moneys of different nations.

This function is of less importance in America than elsewhere because of the great size of our country and of the small portion of our boundaries touching those of other nations using different monetary units.