6  MTM and financial developments  The relationship between monetary policy and financial markets, however, is by no means one that is only of interest for policy makers in the face of a crisis. Developments on financial markets have the potential to modify core economic relationships and, thus, are of utmost interest for monetary policy.
Let me therefore move away somewhat from the recent stress episode to discuss another more structural issue. The recent decade has seen remarkable financial development, leading to many new financial products, more competition, a tremendous increase of securitization activities, disintermediation, and a consolidation process in the banking sector.