Bank financial intermediation plays a critical role in sustainable and inclusive growth. There is a considerable body of evidence showing that the extent to which an economy is making use of banking intermediation is not only associated with economic growth (Figure 1) and broader access to financial services (Figure 2) but it is a causal factor in explaining overall economic performance (see, for example, Levine, 2005), poverty reduction (e.g., Beck et al., 2007) and reduced inequality (e.g., Demirgüç-Kunt and Levine, 2009).
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