A Career in Financial Services

Financial services are the institutions that provide money management and investment products to consumers, businesses and governments. They include banks, credit unions, pension providers, insurance companies, mortgage lenders and the critical utilities that support these functions (like credit card networks and exchanges).

This includes things like investment banking, which makes deals between companies to buy or sell shares. But it also encompasses a wide range of other activities, from providing data and insight to financiers through to journalism, to setting and policing the rules that govern finance.

There are lots of different routes into the sector, with internships and graduate schemes available. But it’s a highly competitive industry, and you will need to show that you are smart, quick-thinking and team-oriented. If you have the right combination of skills, a career in financial services can be really rewarding.

At the government level, financial services are hugely important for enabling the nation to fund its short and long term spending needs. This is done through the money market by issuing Treasury bills that are purchased by commercial banks from depositors’ funds. The government can also raise long-term funds by selling securities in the securities market.

At a more local level, the financial services industry provides a lot of valuable support to the wider economy. For example, it helps to grow and develop the primary, secondary and tertiary industries by supplying them with essential capital. In addition, it offers risk management to the producers by providing them with various types of insurance coverage against losses. It also enables businessmen to maximize their returns by facilitating them with credit facilities at reasonable rates.