placement of money with a financial intermediary like a broker or bank, which invests it in bonds, stocks, mortgages, or other loans, money-market securities, or government obligations so as to achieve a targeted return. More formally called financial intermediation. The opposite is disintermediation , the withdrawal of money from an intermediary.

process of transferring funds from an ultimate source to the ultimate user. A financial institution , such as a bank, intermediates credit when it obtains money from a depositor and relends it to a borrowing customer. The opposite is disintermediation , the withdrawal of deposit funds when savers expect to earn a higher yield through direct investment such as stocks or bonds.

placement of money with a financial intermediary like a broker or bank, which invests it in bonds, stocks, mortgages, or other loans, money market securities, or government obligations. The opposite is disintermediation , withdrawal of money from an intermediary.

the normal flow of funds into financial intermediaries such as S&Ls, which lend out the money.Contrast disintermediation .

Example: See Figure 48, "Normal situation."