Latin American Capital Markets

INTERNETTECHNOLOGY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SECURITIES MARKETS 71Table 3-2 | Electronic Finance in Selected Countries, 1999Income group/economyIndustrial country averageAustraliaBelgiumDenmarkFranceGermanyItalyJapanNetherlandsNorwaySwedenUnited KingdomUnited StatesEmerging market averageArgentinaBrazilMexicoAverage of all economiesOnline banking(customers aspercentage ofbank customers)8.5446212115831664.93536.9Source: Claessens, Glaessner, and Klingebiel (2001).Internet Use by InvestorsOnlinebrokerage(transactions aspercentage ofbrokeragetransactions)282220381832163240255526562764128E-money(number ofmerchantterminals per1 00,000 people)434101,19217371,8981,05941833527Particularly in developed capital markets, investors increasingly use the Internet toopen and maintain online accounts and to place trading orders.Through the Internet,investors are able to obtain information about public issuers, receive general warningsregarding securities fraud, review the disciplinary histories of financial service providers,and lodge complaints. Moreover, investors rely on the Internet to review researchconcerning market data, issuers, and ratings and to chart historical data (Choncron,Grandjean, and Huve-Allard 2000). Internet discussion sites, chat rooms, andnewsgroups have become common fora in which investors discuss investment strategiesand company performance. 33 See Testimony of G. Philip Rutledge before the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations ofthe Committee on Governmental Affairs (March 23, 1999) (Westlaw Ref. 1999 WL 8085977), *25-26; and Cella andStark (1997).12317Copyright © by the Inter-American Development Bank. All rights reserved.For more information visit our website: www.iadb.org/pub