Banking and insurance companies are the foundations of Philadelphia's financial sector. Philadelphia serves as the money center for the mid-Atlantic United States, and is the home of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The City has 12 major commercial banks with full-service international departments and assets of over $1 billion each. These commercial banks include Mellon Bank Corporation, CoreStates and Provident National Bank.

  Philadelphia ranks among the nation's top three insurance centers. The City is the home of the nation's first insurance company, founded in 1752, as well as several other major insurance firms, including CIGNA, Provident Mutual Life, Penn Mutual Life, National Home Life and Fidelity Mutual Life. Over 7,000 workers are employed in insurance related positions earning over $1.5 billion in salaries, commissions and other financial income. This presence is likely to continue as the City has four major education centers with insurance programs: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, the American College of Insurance and the American Institute of Casualty Insurance.

  Other forces that have helped to establish Philadelphia as a financial center are the prominent brokerage houses headquartered in Philadelphia which offer a full range of investment banking services, as well as the expansion of major New York investment banking houses in Philadelphia. In addition, Philadelphia is the headquarters of several venture capital firms with total assets of over $250 million.

  Financial and insurance firms in Philadelphia have been traditionally characterized by slow, but steady, employment increases. However, recent relocation and expansion decisions by finance and insurance space users have added thousands of employees to Philadelphia's employment base. Another component of the attraction is the growing business opportunity to serve the emerging high-technology-oriented industries located in an expanding "belt" around Center City. Because the industry growth belt is so dispersed, a location in the area's focal point is more useful than alternative suburban sites.