Financial services

Financial services is the largest industry (or category of industries) in the world in terms of earnings (20% of market cap in the S&P 500 in 2004). Financial services is a term used to refer to the services provided by the finance industry. Banks, insurance companies, investment banks, and brokerages, are examples of the types of firms forming this industry: They provide money and investment and related services.

Reinsurance

Reinsurance is insurance sold to insurance companies to protect them from mega catastrophic losses.

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• Swiss Re
• Munich Re
• Lloyd's of London
• Berkshire Hathaway

Investment Banks

Investment banks (capital market banks) underwrite debt and equity. Assist on company deals (advisory services, underwriting and advisory fees). Structure debt in to structured finance products.

Related Topics:
Capital market - Underwrite - Structured finance

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• Goldman Sachs
• Lehman Brothers
• Bear Stearns
• Morgan Stanley
• Credit Suisse First Boston
• Lazard
• Nomura
• UBS
• JPMorgan Chase
• ING

see also: Mergers & acquisitions

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see also: Underwriting

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Stock Brokers (private client services) and Discount Brokers

These companies assist people in investing, online only companies are called "discount brokerages", companies with a branch presence are called "full service brokerages" or "private client services".

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• Merrill Lynch
• Morgan Stanley
• Smith Barney
• Charles Schwab
• E-Trade
• Ameritrade
• Edward Jones

Cards Issuers

Credit and debit cards ("bank cards"). Citigroup is the largest issuer with 150 million cards at the end of 2004.

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• American Express
• MBNA
• Capital One

Credit Card machine services and networks

Companies which provide credit card machine and payment networks call themselves "merchant card providers".

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• US Bank
• First Data

Custody services

Custody services and securities processing is a kind of "back-office" administration for financial services. Assets under custody in the world was estimated to $65 trillion at the end of 2004 (http://www.globalcustody.net/default/custody_assets_worldwide/, http://www.cm1.prusec.com/rschrpts.nsf/$$rschidxw/4A2ACD93260C58E785256FA3005F8D0E/$FILE/PROCESSINGPRIMER25-0076.PDF).

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• Bank of New York
• JP Morgan Chase
• State Street
• Mellon

Miscellanious

• General Electric (GE is one of the largest financial companies)