In developed countries, in 2004, banks' operating expenses were 3.5 per cent in the US and 2.8 per cent in Canada and Italy and 2.6 per cent in Australia, while they were in the range of 1.1 to 2.0 per cent in banks of other developed countries such as Japan, Switzerland, Germany and the UK.
Why should financial markets care about ageing? We have established that, for individuals, ageing in the form simply of living longer means that earlier notions of retirement age and asset sufficiency will be revisited. We need then to think about the various effects on financial markets.