1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated January 13, 2022Introduction to Financial Services: The Regulatory FrameworkThis In Focus provides a brief introduction to the federal agencies that regulate U.S. financial markets. For more detail, see CRS Report R44918, Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of the
2、 U.S. Financial Regulatory Framework, by Marc Labonte. The Financial System Financial firms match the available funds of savers and investors with borrowers and others seeking to raise funds in exchange for future payments. The products, instruments, and markets used to facilitate this matching are
3、numerous, and they are overseen by a complex system of regulators. The financial system is often divided into banking, insurance, and securities markets. Securities are financial contracts that pledge to make payments from the issuer to the holder and are generally traded on markets. Contracts take
4、the form of debt (a borrower and creditor relationship) and equity (an ownership relationship). Financial activity is inherently risky, but without risk-taking, businesses could not expand or innovate, and households would be unable to purchase durable goods, education, and housing that could not be