At the end of last year, credit financing totaled about 108 percent of GDP. This is twice as much as in the USA. The same ratio holds for deposits. In the euro area, they account for 80 percent of GDP, while the US figure is about 40 percent.
6  BIS Review 93/2001  However, capital markets are increasing in importance in the euro area. Disintermediation is gaining ground. Financial markets have boomed in recent years and investment banks (as well as non-bank financial firms like institutional investors, pension and investment funds) have enlarged their market share.