Many of the defining features of the financial sphere and the players that populate it are in the midst of profound and unstoppable change – change in how financial firms make money; in how and by whom they are regulated; in where they raise capital; in which markets they serve; and in what role they play in society. It is, of course, impossible to see exactly what lies at the end of this process of transformation, but an understanding of the forces that are driving it – technology, globalization, emerging markets, demographics, and the increased willingness of financial firms to compete with one another – can provide some glimpses of where this transformation is heading.
