The finance industry encompasses a large number of industries, jobs and careers. This sector includes all financial institutions that offer services like banking, credit and insurance to both businesses and consumers. It also includes a wide range of other companies, such as payment processing providers (which handle transactions through credit cards and other electronic means), debt resolution firms, global financial services networks and exchanges that facilitate stock, derivative and commodity trades.
One of the most important things that financial services do is to provide economic growth by distributing funds to different sectors. This ensures that activities are spread over the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy in a balanced manner. They also help people make better investment decisions and manage risk by providing access to information about different investments and opportunities.
They also help poor families access credit and savings, which allow them to purchase land and construct or improve homes, obtain consumer durables, livestock and agricultural inputs and start or grow microenterprises to generate income. They enable families to keep their money safe by depositing and storing it in financial institutions, rather than hiding it under the floorboards or in a drawer where it can easily be stolen.
In the past, some of the most notable events in the financial services industry were the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of the 1990’s, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act and allowed banks to offer investment, commercial and insurance products; and the mergers and buyouts that took place throughout the world. With this in mind, the financial services industry is always changing and expanding.