A bank is a financial institution, which is licensed by the government, that provides a variety of financial services, such as: accounts in which to save, including savings accounts, retirement accounts like IRAs and 401Ks, certificates of deposit, and spending accounts, like checking accounts, and debit and ATM cards to make transactions. These institutions are profit-making entities that seek to give the highest possible return on the investment to its investors, which can be both those who initially created the bank, and in the case of those publicly traded banks, those who invest in ownership of the banks by purchasing the stock or shares of the bank.