Which of the following is not a financial institution?

Financial institutions are organisations that deal primarily in money, credit, and financial services. An insurance company collects premiums and pays out claims, a stock exchange provides a market for buying and selling shares and other securities, and a clearing house settles payments and balances between banks. All three deal directly with money, financial instruments, or financial transactions.

A commodity board is not a financial institution. It is a regulatory or promotional body set up by a government to oversee the production, quality standards, pricing, or export of a particular physical commodity, such as cocoa, rubber, or groundnuts. Its role is centred on managing a physical product and the industry around it, not on handling money, credit, or financial instruments.

Examination reminder: to decide whether a body is a financial institution, check whether its core function is handling money and financial instruments or managing a physical commodity and its trade.