adult australians now hold shares directly ( including through personally managed superannuation funds ) ; in 1991, this figure was 22 %. this trend reflects the programs of privatisation and demutualisation in australia in the 1990s. another measure of the “ democratising ” of the financial system is that practically all permanent employees now receive privately funded superannuation benefits, compared with less than half a decade ago. it is the investment of these funds which has provided such an important stimulus to the growth of the funds management industry over the past decade and a half. it is growth in the size and diversity of financial markets that makes life rewarding and profitable for market participants like yourselves. but from my perspective, the size, and particularly the diversity, of financial markets are also important. representing an institution that is responsible not only for monetary policy, but also for financial stability more generally, i am conscious of the value of a strong and diverse set of financial markets and institutions. to illustrate this point, i want to conclude with a few words from alan greenspan. in a speech last september on lessons from the global crisis, he went over the experience of a number of countries and attempted to draw some conclusions, which are of relevance to what i have been discussing. in his view ( and i will quote ) : “ the mere existence of a diversified financial system may well insulate all aspects of a financial system from breakdown. australia serves as an interesting test case in the most recent asian financial turmoil. despite its close trade and financial ties to asia, the australian economy exhibited few signs of contagion from contiguous economies, arguably because australia already had well - developed capital markets as well as a sturdy banking system. but going further, it is plausible that dividends of financial diversity extend to more normal times as well. ” on that note, i will conclude and wish you all well for a fruitful and stimulating conference.

and lenders. with non - government bonds on issue now totalling about $ 66 billion, this market is now about as large as the market for commonwealth government securities. this development is beginning to produce a “ credit curve ” in australia. now that bond yields in australia have moved lower on the back of low inflation in recent years, the incremental pick - up for taking credit risk probably looks more attractive to investors than it might have a decade ago when bond yields were perennially double - digit numbers. the financial infrastructure in australia has evolved to accommodate this growth of financial activity. practitioners and the authorities have worked together to ensure that the “ plumbing ” kept pace with the system it was serving. in the case of payments and settlements systems, austraclear and the reserve bank ’ s rits system, which introduced delivery - versus - payment, and then the asx ’ s chess system for equities were important steps forward. our systems meet the highest international standards, as specified by the group of 30. they have been inter - linked through the rtgs system to provide a very efficient payments and settlements infrastructure. australia ’ s rtgs system is among the most advanced in the world because of the way it closely links to securities settlements, giving it a very high coverage of high - value transactions. we have already witnessed a major reorganisation of our financial regulatory agencies with the formation of apra and changing responsibilities for the rba and asic. the reform process is, of course, ongoing. the main item on the agenda at present is the so - called clerp initiative - corporate law economic reform program - which aims to achieve best practice in fields such as accounting standards, disclosure, corporate governance, and takeover law. it also aims to facilitate the application of technology to the conduct of business and promote competition in financial markets, including in investment products. the expansion of financial activity in australia has not been confined to market trading. holdings of financial assets in general have expanded rapidly. in the early 1980s, holdings of financial assets were about the same size as gdp ; these days, they are about 2 1 / 2 times the size of the economy. the development of financial markets and the financial system has not benefited only the “ big end of town ” - if anything, the system has become more “ democratic ”. one measure of this is the spread of ownership of equity, with share ownership by individuals increasing sharply in australia in the 1990s. the australian stock exchange estimates that 54 % of