In addition, more and more financial interaction is taking place within the financial sector itself: Financial assets held by the financial sector have increased by more than 100%. In comparison, the growth in total financial assets held by households and non-financialcorporations is significantly lower at around 50% and 70%, respectively. Two starkly different explanations for this phenomenon are currently being debated.
According to the first paradigm, the role of the financial sector as financial intermediary has changed, resulting in additional functions being performed by the financial system for the real economy.