Services that are provided by the finance industry are known as financial services. These include a wide variety of organizations whose main purpose is to handle the management of money. Some of these organizations are banks, companies that issue credit cards, insurance companies, credit unions, investment organizations and stock brokerages.
Banks are the most widely found type of service in finance. Banks that are used by consumers are known as commercial banks whereas banks which are involved in working with businesses to make loans and help raise money are known as investment banks.
Banks are involved in finance services such as holding money, issuing checkbooks and credit cards and debit cards, providing loans in the form of personal, commercial and mortgage loans, and providing notary services for financial-related documents. Banks can also provide foreign exchange services wherein they will exchange currencies, transfer money to international banks and do banking in foreign currency.
In addition to banks, there are finance organizations that deal primarily with investment services. These services deal with stocks, bonds and other securities and assets in the form of real estate. They assist with the preparation of financial statements, selection of stock and the implementation and continued monitoring of investments, The type are of people that invest in these finance organizations may be institutions such as insurance companies, pension funds and corporations or private investors.
In addition to these services of finance, there are organizations that deal primarily with insurance. They may be brokers that seek out insurance for individuals or underwrite insurance for individuals that can include life insurance, annuities, health insurance and property insurance. Another service of finance includes stock brokers and discount brokers. These are organizations that help people to buy and sell shares of stocks in companies. They usually target individual customers. There are also more full-serviced firms that handle trades for clients with large amounts of capital to invest that include wealthy individuals, companies and investment management funds.