An important development in the Malaysian financial sector since the 1997 Asian financial crisis has been the reduction in the banking institutions’ credit exposure to businesses and the greater focus on household financing. In recent years, there has been a growing trend among corporations of securing longer-term financing, in larger amounts, from the capital markets. As the corporate sector turns to the capital markets to meet its financing needs, banking institutions are shifting their focus to the household sector as part of their business diversification strategy.