Transformation of banking reconsidered: how feasible is ‘de-financialisation’?

Abstract

AbstractA defining feature of financialisation has been the transformation of banking, especially the expansion of investment banking. This article argues that the financialisation literature has, to date, failed to adequately explain this transformation. Neither disintermediation processes on the one hand, nor liberalisation of financial service activities on the other hand can explain the increase in scale and scope of the sector. The growth in investment banking activities should instead be seen in terms of the overall expansion of financial markets. In particular, demographic pressures and neoliberal restructuring have led to the growth of capital markets and modern asset management. The rise of capital markets and asset management, and the associated growth of money and derivatives markets have, in turn, put pressures on the banking system for expanded investment services, which it has met. Understanding financialisation as a structural change implies limits on how much economies can be ‘de-financialised’.