The United States and the United Kingdom came out on top of the 2008 Index which looked beyond these countries' financial turmoil to discern fundamental strengths in their broader financial systems. The breadth of measures captured in the Index validated the collective strength of financial intermediaries in both countries, including banks, investment banks, insurance companies, as well as robust equity, bond and derivatives markets.  Other countries in the Top 10 included Germany, Japan, Canada, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong SAR, Netherlands and Singapore.

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An important and unique measure captured by the Index includes the degree to which businesses feel they can easily access capital - a measure which, interestingly, does not always correspond to the total size and depth of financial assets in the countries included in the Index.

Point of view

“The Financial Development Index captures measures of financial stability related to financial turmoil in the US, UK and other countries. The Index puts these measures in the context of a broader assessment of financial development which we hope will promote a balanced agenda with respect to reform.”   James Bilodeau, Project Manager, Financial Institutions Community