There is no question that the role of the financial sector has undergone profound changes in the last decades. This is illustrated by the increase in value added by the financial sector as a percentage of GDP around the globe. In the US, this figure grew by 70% over the last 30 years.
In Europe, the development is more heterogeneous: Spain witnessed a 32% growth in value added by the financial sector as a percentage of GDP from 1995–2007, the UK a 46% growth. In contrast to that, Germany registered a drop by 9%. But altogether, the figures point to a general increase of the financial sector’s relative weight.