The contribution of the financial services sector (including insurance) to GDP amounted to 6.4% in 2002 (€12.8bn). It employed some 110,200 people, or 3.5% of the workforce (2001 data). The sector grew by 3.4% per year over the 1995-2001 period, more than overall GDP (2.4% per year), although in 2002 it declined by 5.2%, reflecting the poor performance of global equity and capital markets. Austria has a high domestic savings ratio, but not a highly developed capital market. The main intermediaries for making savings available for investment are therefore still the banks. However, credit is coming increasingly from non-domestic origins, with the state, public-sector corporations and the largest private companies enjoying easier access to European capital markets following the elimination of exchange-rate risks through the introduction of the euro in 1999. However, capital and money markets are still relatively underdeveloped.
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