Over the past ten years, the global financial system has developed and matured in many ways. Markets around the world have grown deeper and more liquid, the amount of money crossing borders has increased rapidly, and flows to emerging markets are at all-time highs. In short, global capital markets are increasingly integrated. Business executives around the world are taking advantage of these changes, according to the latest McKinsey Quarterly executive survey,¹ and see many improvements in their ability to finance projects as a result. In most regions, executives say that banks have expanded their array of corporate services and consumer credit in recent years. Most executives also report that their company has increased its exposure to foreign financial markets during the past three years, and they believe that this exposure will continue growing.

Business leaders in general are overwhelmingly upbeat about the globalization of financial markets and see it as a positive development that provides better access to capital and, among other benefits, allows the most productive companies to thrive. Interesting differences occur across regions, however. Executives in the United States are the most positive about the state of their domestic financial system—but are more negative than their peers in other countries are about the impact of financial globalization. Respondents in Western Europe² report access to credit that’s inferior to that of their US counterparts, and they are less satisfied with their current financial system but just as bullish on globalization’s effect on growth. Executives in emerging markets are the least likely to say that their financial systems are fully developed—but are the most positive about the globalization of finance. Although most business leaders around the world believe a financial crisis is likely to occur somewhere in the world during the next few years, they are confident that their own country can withstand such a crisis.