The term financial services refers to the business of providing services related to various financial needs, including checking and savings accounts, retirement accounts, mortgages, credit cards, alternative investments such as mutual funds and other securities, financial management, safe deposit services, and various types of consumer loans both secured and unsecured. Sometimes financial services can also refer to the distribution of retirement accounts, trust funds, and inheritance funds. Financial services can cover such a wide variety of things that it can be broken down into subcategories that would take up a long list.
Several different types of institutions provide the financial services including banks, credit unions, mortgage companies, finance companies, savings and loans, and building and loans, although the latter is not as popular as they were many years ago. The biggest majority of banking is conducted at banks, savings and loans, and credit unions. Mortgage companies and finance companies are different in that they do not offer full financial services, but instead, are specialized non-banking services. The same holds true for credit card companies who are called in the financial world “non-bank banks” meaning that they do not offer the services a full service bank does but still fall under the jurisdiction of the Banking Commission.
Sometimes insurance companies provide financial services such as mortgages and retirement savings plans. These types of services are becoming more common as everyone tries to enter the financial market in order to get a cut of the monetary gain it offers. On the other end of the scope, banks are attempting to enter the insurance market, so everyone is looking to get a piece of the pie. With insurance companies entering into banking and banks entering into the insurance industry, the financial services market is definitely becoming quite diversified to say the least. It can be difficult sometimes to figure out where to go when you are looking for certain types of financial services. What you need to do initially is figure out what your financial needs are, both short term and long term. What your financial services needs are can all depend on if you are single, have a family, are close to retirement, etc.