British and American Financial Terms

Here are some of the main differences between British and American financial terminology.

BritishAmerican
Annual General Meeting (AGM)Annual Stockholders Meeting
Articles of AssociationBylaws
authorised share capitalauthorized capital stock
barometer stockbellwether stock
base rateprime rate
bonus or capitalisation issuestock dividend or stock split
bridging loanbridge loan
building societysavings and loan association
chequecheck
companycorporation
creditorsaccounts payable
current accountchecking account
debtorsaccounts receivable
gilt-edged stock (gilts)Treasury bonds
labourlabor
Memorandum of AssociationCertificate of Incorporation
merchant bankinvestment bank
ordinary sharecommon stock
overheadsoverhead
profit and loss accountincome statement
propertyreal estate
quoted companylisted company
retail price index (RPI)consumer price index (CPI)
sharestock
share premiumpaid-in surplus
shareholderstockholder
shareholders' equitystockholders' equity
stockinventory
trade unionlabor union
unit trustsmutual funds
visible trademerchandise trade