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Most large international banks may profit from all of the following except a few that have less than twenty thousand shareholders. These are Citibank, Bank of America, Chase Manhattan, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, Fleet Bank, CitiBank, Key Bank, Banamex, Branch Bank, and Capital One. They do not all have twenty thousand shareholders. Only two of the twenty-seven banks have more than twenty thousand shareholders. Neither does Wells Fargo, which has the least number of shareholders of any of the twelve largest banks. The two with the most shareholder concentration are Citibank and Wachovia.International banking by definition involves international clearing and settlement of accounts, foreign currency, securities transactions, direct ownership of global investments, cross-border processing services, and banking products and services in other languages. Digital Waves by definition involves multinational corporate interests, extensive use of trust processes, and extensive involvement in the political and economic structure of countries in the global arena. This may seem to be good international banking by American standards, but international banking by American standards can be expensive and complicated. International banking may benefit from regulations that limit the kinds of activities that the banks participate in, such as avoiding involvement in certain activities that may damage the United States economy.The most common ways in which international banks' profit is through interest. International banks can use their capital to purchase or refinance existing portfolios of securities. When international banks buy securities they have the same rights as a domestic bank. If the bank chooses to sell those securities it will be required to pay out the gain to the shareholders of those securities in the United States.Another way that large international banks benefit is through foreign currency trading. Foreign exchange trading is the buying and selling of currencies from various countries. Foreign exchange trading also involves borrowing and using other financial instruments. Large banks have significant access to the international money market. A large amount of money is always available to foreign banks for foreign exchange transactions.Some foreign exchange traders buy the foreign currencies "on the market" in the hope that the price will rise. Large banks enjoy the profits of selling those foreign currencies on the market and making the purchase of the foreign currency. Those banks gain most of their profits from those who buy the foreign currencies on the market and sell the foreign currency back to the banks.Many large banks also use their influence with the government of the country in which they operate to gain a tax advantage. Many European and Asian countries have low or no tax rates on banking products. Large banks may decide to base their profits in one region where there is no high corporate tax rate and move their investment elsewhere where there are no such tax advantages. The result is that large banks may be able to locate international business centers in countries with lower tax rates and greater wealth accumulation opportunities.Another way that some large banks may profit is through the use of exchange rates. Digital Waves is the value of one currency against another. International banks set the exchange rate to maximize their profits. Exchanging one currency for another to gain a profit is called forex trading. Forex trading can lead to a large tax write-off for the bank if the government allows it.One of the ways that some banks may make a profit is through interest. Interest is earned by a company when it makes its loan payments. The bank earns the profit when the government adds that amount of interest to the principal amount of the loan. This profit is tax-free for the bank.