[jmherbener]

Corporate financing in Germany relies more heavily on banks, i.e., financial intermediaries, while corporate financing in GB and the USA relies more heavily on financial markets, i.e., stocks and bonds. According to the following ECB study, in 2001 bank loans to the corporate sector in the Euro zone were 42.6 percent of GDP while only 18.8 percent of GDP in the USA. Outstanding debt of non-financial corporations was 6.5 percent of GDP in the Euro zone and 71.7 percent of GDP in the USA. Stock capitalization in the Euro zone was 28.9 percent of GDP in the Euro zone and 137.1 percent of GDP in the USA.

http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecbwp547.pdf