In a broad sense, financial services are economic services provided by businesses within the finance industry. These businesses include banks, credit unions, and credit-card companies. These businesses provide these services to individuals and businesses. These businesses also provide various types of financial products and services. The following are a few examples of financial services.
Regulatory bodies
Regulatory bodies for financial services are government agencies that oversee the operations of financial firms and markets. These agencies help ensure that financial services are delivered responsibly and safely to consumers. They also publish reports and statistics regarding the financial services industry. While the publications provided by regulatory bodies are important, they do not always contain all of the information that consumers need to make informed decisions. Moreover, they may not be updated as frequently as the regulatory bodies would like.
Payment recovery services
Payment recovery is a process that helps businesses recover funds that have been paid out in error. Erroneous payments can cause a company to take substantial losses. These errors often occur in larger organizations, but even small businesses can use payment recovery services to ensure that their funds are not misappropriated.
Insurance underwriting and reinsurance
Insurance underwriting is a process of risk assessment and management. Underwriters also offer services such as claims administration, loss control, and processing insurance claims.
Commercial banks
Commercial banks are for-profit financial institutions that provide financial services to both businesses and individuals. They make their profits by charging interest on loans and accepting deposits from customers. They are a vital part of the economy and offer a variety of banking products and services.
Investment banks
Investment banks provide financial services to corporations and other financial institutions. They help companies raise funds through various capital markets and give advice on mergers and acquisitions. These transactions may involve arranging listed asides, subscribing investors to a security issuance, or coordinating with bidders and merger targets. Some investment banks also perform other functions, such as cash management and securities services.
Real estate brokers
Real estate brokers facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers by acting as intermediaries and collecting commissions from both parties. These professionals need to have extensive networking skills and be familiar with valuation and market analysis. Often, these professionals work at larger brokerage firms, which are organized like investment banks. They are typically organized into different teams, with senior brokers focusing on networking and junior brokers focusing on financial modeling and marketing materials.
Insurance companies
Insurance companies provide financial services to individuals and businesses in order to protect them against risks. Their services include coverage for death, injury, property loss, liability, lawsuits, and more. In the insurance industry, there are several different types of insurance professionals. These professionals include agents and brokers. Agents represent the insurance carrier while brokers represent the insured. Brokers shop for insurance policies from different companies and negotiate policies on behalf of their clients. Underwriters assess the risk associated with insuring clients. They may also advise investment banks on how to best lend money to clients. Reinsurers sell insurance to insurers in order to protect them from catastrophic losses.
