BIS Quarterly Review, August 1996
Introduction
This commentary on recent developments in international banking, securities and global derivatives markets is based on partial information available for the second quarter of 1996 and on more detailed banking data for the first quarter. It is divided into four parts. Part I provides an overview of total international financial market activity and of the main underlying trends that appear to have emerged in recent months. Part II deals with the international banking market, using information on syndicated loan facilities for the second quarter of 1996 and the more detailed BIS international banking statistics, which are available up to end-March only. It includes (in Appendix 1) an appraisal of changes in the composition of international bank lending by nationality group of reporting banks over the last ten years. Part III concentrates on developments in international securities markets in the second quarter of 1996. It incorporates (in Appendix 2) a description of the key features of international securities issuance by borrowers from developing countries, as well as (in Appendix 3) an assessment of prospects for a single pan-European government bond market. Part IV covers activity in derivatives markets, focusing primarily on exchange-traded instruments, for which comprehensive and up-to-date statistics are available. It also describes briefly (in Appendix 4) the new market for credit derivatives, which has aroused widespread interest recently, but whose further development raises a number of questions regarding standardisation of market practices and regulation.