When capitalism first began to emerge as the dominant economic system around the turn of the 19th century in Western Europe and North America, the role of the financial sector in the system was simple and straightforward. When individuals or groups wished to set up a new company, they sold shares in the company to the public in order to raise the initial start-up capital. These shares were generally purchased by people who had accumulated some capital from existing or previous business ventures – industrialists, traders, land owners and wealthy professionals. In general, then, the people who owned these shares were themselves involved in producing and distributing goods and services – what is commonly termed “the real economy” nowadays. They bought shares in the hope that they would generate a better return than the low deposit interest rates available from the banks, and were usually quite happy if the shares gave a return of 5-10%.