Though this market has increased fairly much in terms of total outstanding in the post-1999 period, the corporate bond market continues to account for a small fraction of the euro-zone debt market (see slide 12). Corporate finance traditions in Europe favouring the banking model may be one explanation for this.
It should be recognised that well developed mortgage markets make a strong contribution to debt security markets in a number of European countries. Nevertheless, an increasing number of entities outside the euro-zone issue bonds denominated in euro. Indeed, the role of the euro in the international debt security markets has increased substantially since 1999. For broadly defined international debt securities (i.e.