A financial institution that is legally permitted to solicit and accept monetary deposits from the general public. In the US, depository institutions include:

US depository institutions must obtain a license or banking charter from a federal or state bank regulatory authority and are generally required to have their deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The operations and activities of US depository institutions are heavily regulated and generally restricted to banking activities. They may not, for example, engage in commercial or industrial activities. For more information on depository institutions, see Practice Note, US Banking Law: Overview.