ABSTRACT
CHANGES in the international economic and financial environment during the 1970s and 1980s have brought with them marked changes in the ways in which international financial intermediation is conducted. There have been significant shifts in the roles played by private financial institutions (especially commercial banks and investment banks) on the one hand and official financial institutions (especially the IMF and World Bank) on the other. There have also been important shifts in the roles played by institutions within each category. This chapter examines some of the factors that have influenced the nature and scale of participation of the different types of institution in international finance.
