For example, the Bank for International Settlements estimates that the stock of international bank loans had grown to $ trillion at the end of September 1997 - almost 30 times the level 25 years earlier. Importantly, loans to developing countries now total about $ trillion.
While it is true that international bond and equity flows have grown during the period, new issues of bonds only exceeded bank lending 10 years ago, and the stock of outstanding loans is still considerably greater. This flow of capital has been critical in increasing the standard of living around the globe.