This has led to the deepening of capital markets of various kinds, as well as to a more important role for the institutions that deal in traded securities. A second important structural change is the emergence of markets for risks of different kinds, in which exposures to specific market or credit risk can be bought and sold separately from financial assets.
This has provided economic agents the leeway to reduce or increase their exposure to specific categories of risk. A third key trend has been changes in the business profile of financial institutions. In many countries, services traditionally associated with "banking" are now offered by institutions not legally characterized as banks, while banks are increasingly engaged in para-banking activities.