The greater soundness and flexibility of the system derive above all from the reorganization and capital strengthening of intermediaries prompted in many countries by the public authorities since the second half of the 1990s. The strong expansion of the bond market, which has allowed firms to supplement bank loans with funds raised directly from savers, has contributed to the stability of the system.
The shocks that have hit the international financial system have been absorbed thanks also to the development of the derivatives market. At the end of 2003 the notional value of over-the-counter derivatives was approximately 200 trillion dollars, nearly twice as much as at the end of 2001. Interest rate derivatives account for about three quarters of the entire derivatives market.