Geographical barriers have largely disappeared, leading to the emergence of an increasingly integrated global capital market with a sizable group of multinational financial intermediaries operating in all the major centres.
Distinctions among different classes of financial intermediary have become blurred, with the relaxation of regulatory restraints, the growth of conglomerate structures, and the increasing ease with which institutions can transform the risk characteristics of their portfolios through the use of derivatives. Another significant development has been the securitisation of assets and the institutionalisation of savings.