The risks associated with shadow banking are at the forefront of the regulatory debate. Yet, this column argues that there is as yet no established analytical approach to shadow banking. This means that policy priorities are not clearly motivated. But if we analyse securitisation and collateral intermediation – the two shadow banking functions most important for financial stability – a solid framework that includes existing policy recommendations, as well as some alternative ones, begins to emerge.

Financial interconnectedness across countries has reached unprecedented levels – but what has driven this change? This column finds that financial deregulation is responsible for 16 percentage points of the increase in financial development, but openness to trade and the size of government off-set one another. This is because the structural association between trade openness and financial development is mildly negative.