US Finance and Insurance Sector

The 244,535 establishments in the finance and insurance sector engage in the creation, liquidation, and transfer of financial assets and/or support financial transactions. The sector connects savers and investors with borrowers and includes financial intermediaries, which use the funds of savers to make loans or investments. Firms may also act as agents and invest on behalf of others. The infrastructure of financial markets includes systems that provide information, payment, clearing, and settlement services that support and facilitate transactions.

Balancing Risk and Reward

Risk is an integral part of financial markets, and investments can lose some to even all of their value under certain types of conditions.

Government Regulation

Industries in the finance and insurance sector are subject to extensive government regulation at varying levels.

Sep 22, 2026 - Apartment Debt Crunch Deepens as Cheap Loans Come Due

• America’s apartment landlords are heading into a painful refinancing crunch after loading up on cheap debt during the pandemic-era multifamily boom. More than $1.8 trillion in apartment loans will mature over the next decade, including about $757 billion through 2028, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Nearly $300 billion comes due this year alone. The problem is that many loans originated when mortgage rates were around 3%; landlords refinancing today can face rates near 6%, just as a wave of new apartments has restrained rent growth in markets such as Phoenix, Atlanta, and Austin. Distress is already showing: multifamily mortgage-backed security delinquencies have climbed from 1% in October 2023 to 7.1% this year, according to Morgan Stanley, while apartment values remain more than 20% below their 2022 peak. That is pushing some owners toward sales, defaults, or handing properties back to lenders.
• Mastercard is joining Visa in preparing for a world where AI bots can shop on consumers’ behalf, potentially making purchases without asking for approval each time. Under a new partnership with startup Alchemy, Mastercard customers can give an AI agent a virtual card with guardrails such as spending limits, approved retailers, or product restrictions. The Wall Street Journal reports that Visa already works with Alchemy, while Mastercard, Visa, and American Express are developing broader standards for AI-driven payments. The technology could allow bots to monitor prices, find products that match a customer’s preferences, and automatically buy when conditions are met. The bigger hurdle is trust. Banks and payment companies are still wrestling with fraud, unauthorized purchases, regulatory uncertainty, and who is responsible when an AI agent makes a mistake or goes rogue. Mastercard is using “agentic tokens” designed to document a cardholder’s intent and purchasing parameters.
• Employers and workers are bracing for another painful jump in health insurance costs, with little relief in sight. US employers expect healthcare costs to rise 11.1% in 2027, according to benefits consultant WTW, which would be the largest increase in more than two decades and the fifth straight year of accelerating growth. Workers are already feeling the squeeze: Aon estimates employees with workplace coverage will spend an average of $5,297 on premiums and out-of-pocket costs in 2026, up $388 from last year. Higher hospital prices, greater use of medical services and expensive treatments are driving insurers’ costs higher, with cancer therapies and GLP-1 weight-loss drugs adding particular pressure. As premiums climb, employers are passing some of the increase to workers through larger payroll deductions and cost sharing, while some smaller businesses are finding that health insurance expenses are eating deeply into already thin margins.
• US housing activity weakened further in July as higher mortgage rates strained affordability and kept sales subdued. Existing-home sales fell 1.7% from June to an annualized pace of 4.06 million, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), though sales were up 0.7% from a year earlier. Freddie Mac said the average 30-year mortgage rate rose to 6.69% in early August from 6.43% at the start of July. Higher rates are discouraging buyers while giving homeowners with cheaper mortgages an incentive to stay put, limiting the supply of homes for sale. Tight supply continues to prop up prices despite sluggish sales, with the median home price rising 2% from a year earlier to $434,100. The divide between weak sales and high prices shows how elevated borrowing costs are slowing the housing market without making homes substantially cheaper.

Industry size & Structure

The finance and insurance sector is comprised of 244,535 establishments that employ 6.8 million workers and generate $5.7 trillion in annual revenue, according to government sources.

• The finance and insurance sector represents 8.9% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 4% of the country's workers.
• The sector is somewhat concentrated at the top with the 20 largest firms representing 29% of revenue, but it is fragmented at the bottom.
• In addition to employer establishments, the finance and insurance sector has 805,000 owner-operated establishments with no employees. The owners of nonemployer establishments typically perform the work and may outsource support functions like marketing and accounting.
• The finance and insurance sector is forecast to grow its employment base by 4.4% overall by 2031, which is lower than the national average of 5.3% for all jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.