Services

The financial services sector has been going through a dramatic process of change for the last two decades. Technological change deregulation and the opening up of financial systems to international competition amongst other factors have reshaped the financial landscape for ever. Against this background trade in financial services (understood as both cross-border financial transactions and the establishment of premises abroad) has expanded at a rapid pace prompting a deeper integration of markets worldwide.

Services are often largely overlooked in discussions on global trade yet they account for the majority of trade in many developed economies and are growing rapidly in many developing economies as well. This is perhaps because services are less tangible and the issues surrounding services trade are often more complex. This report therefore sets out to demystify trade in services. It aims to shed new light on this essential part of global trade provide a detailed picture of trade in services today and consider how it might evolve in the coming years particularly as new technologies make some services increasingly tradeable.