The finance industry is an industry in itself as well as an ancillary that supports other industries. Trade and commerce across the world would come to a standstill if there was no means to fund, pay and protect the transactions, hence the need for governments to support the financial services industry when companies that are ‘too big to fail’ are close to collapse.

The financial industry, or financial services industry, includes a wide range of companies and institutions involved with money, including businesses providing money management, lending, investing, insuring and securities issuance and trading services.

The following institutions are a part of the financial industry:

Banks
Credit card issuers
Insurance companies
Investment bankers
Securities traders
Financial planners
Security exchanges.