Which of the following is not typically a financial intermediary?

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Financial intermediaries are institutions that move funds from savers to borrowers, providing liquidity, risk pooling, and maturity transformation. Banks take deposits and make loans, offering payment services and short-term liquidity to the economy. Insurance companies collect premiums and invest the funds to cover future claims, pooling risk across policyholders and supplying long-term capital to financial markets. Pension funds gather contributions from workers and employers and invest to meet future retirement obligations, transforming long-horizon savings into investable assets for the economy. Contractors, by contrast, are service providers in construction and project delivery; they do not take deposits, issue financial instruments to mobilize savings, or perform the risk pooling and liquidity transformation typical of financial intermediaries. Hence, they are not considered financial intermediaries.