The contents of finance can be summarized as the issuance and withdrawal of money, the absorption and payment of deposits, the issuance and recovery of loans, the trading of gold, silver and foreign exchange, the issuance and transfer of securities, insurance, trust and domestic and foreign currency settlement. Institutions engaged in financial activities mainly include banks, trust and investment companies, insurance companies, securities companies, investment funds, credit cooperatives, finance companies, financial asset management companies, postal savings institutions, financial leasing companies, securities, gold and silver, foreign exchange exchanges, etc.
Finance is an economic category formed after the emergence of credit currency, and it and credit are two different concepts:
(1) Finance does not include loans in kind, especially the financing of monetary funds (narrow finance). People not only borrow money for financing, but also issue stocks for financing.
(2) Credit refers to the borrowing of all currencies, and finance (in a narrow sense) refers to the financing of credit currency. The reason why people want to create a new concept other than "credit" to refer to the financing of credit currency is to summarize a new economic phenomenon; The two economic processes of credit and currency circulation have been closely combined. Bank credit can create and reduce money, which is the most obvious financial feature. Bank credit is considered as the core of finance.
The definition of finance and economics is financial economy and finance, also called "national finance". It is an economic activity that takes the country as the main body, concentrates part of social resources, performs government functions and meets social needs through government revenue and expenditure activities.
Second, the basic characteristics of finance
The basic characteristics of finance can be understood from three aspects: the subject, the purpose and the foundation of financial activities.