Financial Services

Financial services encompass an expansive category of work that includes everything from securing a mortgage to depositing money into a bank account. It can also refer to debt and credit services, investment firms, insurance companies, as well as the providers of critical financial market utilities.

The largest sector of the industry is commercial banking, which provides services such as accepting deposits from customers, providing credit facilities, offering treasury management and other financial products to clients, and underwriting and advising on mergers and acquisitions. It also offers more complex financial products like structured finance, asset management and derivatives.

Another important type of financial service is insurance, which covers risks and liabilities from unforeseen events such as illness, accidents or death. It can be offered through an array of policies including health, home and car insurance as well as personal loans, life and mortgage protection.

Investment firms offer advisory and brokerage services, as well as buying and selling securities on behalf of their clients. They also maintain research departments that provide insights and public stances on industries, companies or individual stocks.

Finally, credit services are provided by banks and other lending institutions to individuals and businesses to facilitate the exchange of funds. These can include loaning money, providing credit cards and facilitating payment systems such as real-time gross settlement or interbank networks. Financial services are a crucial part of every economy and play a key role in the lives of all consumers, so they should be treated with care.