Companies and banks of all sizes, when on the brink of insolvency, often merge with, or are bought out by, others that are sounder at the time. Neoliberal ideology has shaped the environment for the globalization of financial capitalism. It holds that the laws of the market are universally valid for all spheres of human existence. Everything, including money, should be treated as merchandise, and the market should be left free in order for goods and money to circulate properly. In this way, the market will meet all needs and effectively distribute the wealth produced.
All regulation is unwelcome, because it prevents the free flow of goods and money.
That is the content and sense of the villainous Multilateral Investment Agreement which was being drafted and discussed in secret by the wealthy countries. In the 80s, for a number of reasons, the indebtedness of countries of the Southern hemisphere, made possible by the irresponsibility of both governments and their creditors, reached the point of insolvency. In this way, governments of very indebted countries, which were generally those with the higher poverty rates and the longest histories of colonial subordination, exchanged real wealth for virtual wealth. Many took out new loans in the 80s to pay off previous loans, and not to invest in creating new wealth or the capacity to produce it. They became strapped into a vicious circle of indebtedness from which they were never going to escape, at least not by the end of this century.