Finance and economic activity

Finance is generally considered to be the “blood” of economic activity. Not only is the economy not possible without the circulation of money, but if it stagnates, it will cause great turmoil in society. As a result, in every country, nations used to make a number of arrangements to control most of their financial activities. Even in the latter half of the 20th century, such a system did not change, and governments prepared various laws to limit the activities of financial institutions.

The financial big bang started in the late 1990s
So what about your current financial business? First of all, it’s a big change from 20 years ago. Financial institutions have gained great freedom regardless of the type of business due to the major reform of the financial system (Japanese version, Financial Big Bang) that has been gradually implemented since the end of the 1990s in line with the global trend of “financial liberalization”. The attitude of the country (administration) has also been replaced from “supervision” to “surveillance.”

Not only is the movement of funds free to move globally, but interest rates, fees, insurance premiums, etc. can now be freely decided by each company like ‘Singapore forex broker’. The barriers that separate activities by business type are also lowered and banks can sell not only traditional products such as deposits and loans but also securities and insurance. It has also become possible for financial holding companies to operate financial groups. For this reason, major banks called Mega Bank have set up financial holding companies and have banks, trust banks, securities companies, leasing companies, asset management companies, consumer finance companies, etc. under their umbrella. Of course, finance is an important infrastructure that supports the world and national economies, so many efforts require notifications and permits. Still, I’m much freer than before.

“Finance” and “information” are very closely related. Most modern financial businesses are established by “rewriting information” without moving money. In other words, the financial industry can be said to be an industry that is established by handling vast amounts of information.  Banks and other financial institutions have been actively introducing computer systems over the past half-century, focusing on improving the speed, efficiency, and convenience of information processing. You can withdraw deposits at convenience stores without going to the bank, you can easily shop with your card, and you can buy and sell securities on your computer or smartphone because the “information rewriting” mechanism has evolved.

How has the financial business changed?

Next, let’s sort out what has changed in the field of financial business.

  • Efforts have been made to strengthen competitiveness, such as improving product and service capabilities and thoroughly reducing costs.
  • In addition to the awareness of being a public job that supports economic activities, the awareness of making oneself a “service industry” has increased.
  • Unprecedented initiatives such as market research and marketing have become more important.
  • In addition to the role of providing financial functions to support living and industry, expectations and roles as a device that actively produces profits have increased.
  • The financial industry is evolving into a globally competitive industry that produces enormous profits.
  • Being free means more responsibility, so in addition to increasing capital, governance and compliance are being strengthened.