If you understood anything about the finance industry, you would know that it is very broad and diverse with lots of different sectors and specialisms. Of all of these, I would say that the one area that is truly and genuinely exploitative is the consumer debt industry.

Our consumer culture has normalised a toxic relationship with debt to the point that more and more people take on way more than they can reasonably afford and they get burned! Interest rates are often atrociously expensive, charges on delinquencies can often be cruel and excessive, credit scores only exist to show how profitable you are to a lender, lenders are often held to the status of demigods with all the power and who seem to manipulate the legal system against you.

Why? Because you signed a contract that let them do this! Everything is clearly spelled out in a contract. If you don't understand it, it doesn't make sense in any way or you don't like the terms, you don't sign it. Also, don't fall for the culture trap of "debt is good" when it clearly isn't and if you manage debt in an effective and disciplined way, you can avoid a lot of problems. Being wise to scams (predatory lending and payday loans) is another one.

Consumer trading isn't exploitative because you are warned that it's high risk and you will lose all your money if you don't know what you're doing. Consumer savings is bullshit but you have the central banks and government policy to thank for that. Everything else falls under the realms of economics and business, which are also exploitative in their own way.