back office

Back Office

Administration and support personnel in a financial services company. They carry out functions like settlements, clearances, record maintenance, regulatory compliance, and accounting. When order processing is slow due to high volume, it is commonly referred to as "back office crunch."

Notes:

A financial services company is logically broken up into three parts: the front office includes sales personnel and corporate finance, the middle office manages risk and IT resources, and the back office provides administrative and support services.

See also: Front Office, Middle Office

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Back office

Brokerage house clerical operations that support, but do not include, the trading of stocks and other securities. All written confirmation and settlement of trades, record keeping, and regulatory compliance happen in the back office.

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back office

The physical location within a business where records are kept and processed. In the case of a brokerage firm, the back office includes the section where individual account records are kept, checks are processed, and security certificates are sent. Also called operations department.