This has seen country after country freeing up their financial system. In that process, exchange controls (that had been intended to isolate domestic markets from global influences) have been dismantled. In the increasingly integrated global capital market that has resulted, global financial firms with often complex financial and corporate structures have emerged as dominant players.
These firms are to be found operating around the globe -- relatively low transaction costs and the application of new technologies allow such firms to be active players in whichever of the world’s financial markets they want to participate in.