Exclude sovereign in finance (7)
I believe the answer is:
banking
'finance' is the definition.
(banking is a kind of finance)
'exclude sovereign' is the wordplay.
'exclude' becomes 'ban' (I've seen this in other clues).
'sovereign' becomes 'king' (king is a kind of sovereign).
'ban'+'king'='BANKING'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for banking that I've seen before include "Engaging in the business of depositing and lending money" , "(Of aircraft) turning" , "financial activity" , "Relying" , "Depositing and withdrawing money" .)