Hallycon Academy

Curso 2 · Principiante

How banks work

What really happens to the money in your account, how banks create money, what central banks and interest rates do, who protects your savings, what went wrong in 2008, and what to ask before you sign.

  • 8 lecciones
  • 56 min
  • Gratis
  • Un certificado al terminar

Empezar a aprender gratis

Para quién es

Para quien tiene una cuenta bancaria y quiere saber qué pasa de verdad con su dinero, quién lo protege y qué preguntar antes de firmar.

Las lecciones

Cada lección tiene un vídeo breve, un cuestionario y enlaces para saber más. Las lecciones completas se abren tras un registro gratuito.

  1. Lección 1: What a bank really does with your money

    7 min

    A bank takes deposits, lends money and runs payments. Your deposit is, in law, a loan you make to the bank.

    Puntos clave

    • Banks earn mostly on the gap between what borrowers pay and what savers get.
    • Your money is not in a vault with your name on it: the bank owes it to you.
    • That is why deposit guarantees and bank supervision exist.

  2. Lección 2: How banks create money

    7 min

    When a bank grants a loan, it creates new money in the borrower's account. When the loan is repaid, that money disappears.

    Puntos clave

    • A new loan creates a new deposit; most money today is made this way (Bank of England, 2014; Deutsche Bundesbank, 2017).
    • Banks can't create without limit: rules, profit and the central bank's rates hold them back.
    • Repaying loans destroys money, which is why credit booms and busts move the whole economy.

  3. Lección 3: Central banks: the bank of banks

    7 min

    The ECB with the national central banks for the euro, the SNB for the franc. What they do, and why they are independent.

    Puntos clave

    • Central banks issue cash, lend to banks and set the base interest rate.
    • The ECB aims for 2% inflation over the medium term; the SNB counts inflation below 2% a year as price stability.
    • They are independent so that governments can't print money before an election.

  4. Lección 4: Interest rates: the price of money

    7 min

    The central bank's rate flows into savings, mortgages and loans. Why savers got almost nothing for years, and what changed in 2022.

    Puntos clave

    • The policy rate sets the floor for what banks pay and charge.
    • The ECB's deposit rate was negative from 2014 to 2022 and reached 4% in 2023 (ECB, historical).
    • Banks don't pass on every change at once: compare your savings rate with the central bank's rate.

  5. Lección 5: Is my money safe in the bank?

    7 min

    Deposit guarantees, investor protection and what happens if a bank fails, in your country.

    Puntos clave

    • Deposits are guaranteed up to €100,000 per person per bank in the EU, and up to CHF 100,000 in Switzerland (esisuisse).
    • Shares and funds held through a bank are kept apart from the bank's own assets; EU investor compensation covers at least €20,000 if they go missing.
    • Spread large sums across banking groups, not just across brand names of one group.

  6. Lección 6: Bank runs: when trust disappears

    7 min

    Banks lend out most of what they hold, so they can't repay everyone on the same day. What happened in 2007 and 2023, and why runs now happen on phones.

    Puntos clave

    • A bank can be sound and still fail if everyone wants their money at once.
    • In 2007 savers queued outside a UK bank; in 2023 a US bank lost more than $40 billion of deposits in one day, mostly online (Federal Reserve, 2023).
    • Central banks lend in emergencies, and deposit guarantees exist to stop panics.

  7. Lección 7: 2008: the crisis that changed banking

    7 min

    Bad US mortgages, too much borrowing and too little capital. How a housing problem became a world crisis, and the rules that came after.

    Puntos clave

    • Banks had borrowed and lent far too much against US housing; when prices fell, banks stopped trusting each other.
    • Governments rescued banks across Europe, including in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.
    • Since then banks hold more capital, the ECB has supervised the biggest euro-area banks since 2014, and investors in a failing bank pay before taxpayers ("bail-in").

  8. Lección 8: What your bank sells you, and what to ask

    7 min

    Banks also sell funds, insurance-based savings and loans. How to tell advice from a sale, and four questions to ask before you sign.

    Puntos clave

    • A bank adviser may be paid partly through the products you buy.
    • EU rules (MiFID II) require a suitability check and a cost overview before investment advice; Swiss rules (FinSA) work in a similar way.
    • Ask: total cost per year, how the adviser is paid, how you get out, and the 1–7 risk score on the key information document.

Qué encontrará

  • Vídeos breves: Unos dos minutos por lección
  • Cuestionarios: Tres preguntas después de cada lección
  • Calculadoras: Inflación, interés compuesto, fondo de emergencia y comisiones
  • Certificado: Por cada curso que complete

Las lecciones completas, los vídeos y los cuestionarios se abren tras un registro gratuito: su nombre, correo electrónico, móvil y un PIN. Sin tarjeta, sin compromiso.

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Educación financiera general. Hallycon Academy no gestiona dinero, no vende productos de inversión ni da asesoramiento personal. Los ejemplos no prometen ninguna rentabilidad.

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