Capital market
![The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, one of the largest secondary capital markets in the world. As of 2013, most of the NYSE's trades are executed electronically, but its hybrid structure allows some trading to be done face to face on the floor.](/Images/godic/202501/08/NYSE-floor0530.jpg")
![One Churchill Place, Barclays' HQ in Canary Wharf, London. Barclays is a major player in the world's primary and secondary bond markets.](/Images/godic/202501/08/Barclays_HQ0530.jpg")
![An Electronic trading platform being used at the Deutsche Börse. Most 21st century capital market transactions are executed electronically, sometimes a human operator is involved, and sometimes unattended computer systems execute the transactions, as happens in algorithmic trading.](/Images/godic/202501/08/Deutsche-boerse-parkett-ffm0080530.jpg")
Capital markets are financial markets for the buying and selling of long-term debt or equity-backed securities. These markets channel the wealth of savers to those who can put it to long-term productive use, such as companies or governments making long-term investments. Capital markets are defined as markets in which money is provided for periods longer than a year. Financial regulators, such as the UK's Bank of England (BoE) or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), oversee the capital markets in their jurisdictions to protect investors against fraud, among other duties.