The US financial services industry has experienced recent growth after encountering a period of stagnancy between the years of 2000 and 2002. Several financial services firms are developing competitive advantages to hold customers captive and enable consistent revenue growth.

Aruvian Research analyzes the Financial Services Industry in the US in a PEST Framework Analysis. A PEST analysis is concerned with the environmental influences on a business. The acronym stands for the Political, Economic, Social and Technological issues that could affect the strategic development of a business. Identifying PEST influences is a useful way of summarizing the external environment in which a business operates.