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What's wrong with finance

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What is the finance sector supposed to do? Essentially, it needs to perform a number of basic economic functions. First and foremost, it operates the payments system without which most transactions could not occur. Secondly, it channels funds from individual savers to the corporate sector so the latter can finance its expansion. In doing so, it does the highly useful service of maturity transformation; allowing households to have short-term assets (deposits) while making long-term loans. It also creates diversified products (such as mutual funds) that help to reduce the risk to savers of catastrophic loss. Thirdly, it provides liquidity to the market by buying and selling assets. The prices established in the course of this process are a useful signal of which companies offer the most attractive use for capital and which governments are the most profligate. Fourthly, the sector helps individuals and companies to manage risks, whether physical (fire and theft) or financial (sudden currency movements).

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