nonbank

noun

non·​bank ˌnän-ˈbaŋk 

often attributive

: a business that is not an officially established bank but offers many similar services

Examples of nonbank in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Private credit allocations from Middle Eastern family offices have steadily increased from negligible in 2021 to around 2% of portfolios, picking up in 2022 when an end to zero-interest rate policies among central banks and slowing public markets began to push borrowers toward nonbank lenders. —Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 16 Dec. 2025

Underbanked is when households have an account with a bank or credit union but still use nonbank products for most of their financial needs. —Medora Lee, USA Today, 16 Dec. 2025

At question were consumer loans that nonbank lenders were issuing through banks chartered in other states with no caps or very high caps on interest rates. —Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 16 Nov. 2025

Private credit loans are typically given out by nonbank lenders such as alternative asset managers, private equity firms, and pension funds. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for nonbank

• gangplank
• outflank
• sandbank
• antitank
• interbank
• mountebank
• riverbank
• banc
• bank
• blank
• clank
• crank

Legal Definition

nonbank

adjective

non·​bank

ˌnän-ˈbaŋk

: being, done by, or involving some entity other than a bank

nonbank lenders

a nonbank depositor

nonbanking adjective