Indeed, the Scandinavian countries have embraced the development of new payments technologies that seem to be reducing the need for physical currency for transactions in those countries.12 Nonetheless, a transition to a cashless economy in the United States seems very far off; indeed, U.S. currency outstanding has been increasing relative to nominal gross domestic product over recent decades, driven importantly by foreign demands for U.S. bank notes.
First, the default and ratings transition probabilities of structured products have not always been consistent with those of corporate and sovereign ratings. Moreover, recent events have brought into focus some potential conflicts of interest in the ratings business. 4 The fall from grace of the rating agencies has had a significant impact because rating agencies had grown more powerful than anyone intended.