The divergence between demand for and supply of funds has been exacerbated by problems in the banking sector, which plays a dominant role in intermediating funds in Thailand. Hampered by the legacy of the crisis in 1997-that significantly weakened their balance sheets as well as those of their potential customers- banks have been unable to generate sufficient growth in loans, their most productive asset (see Figure 18.). This, in turn, has limited their ability to offer higher return on deposits. The fact that bringing the supply of and the demand for capital together in Thailand is mostly done through banks makes the analysis of banking sector developments a vital step towards a fuller understanding of real interest rates. Indeed, if banks were somehow unable to fulfill their core intermediary function, observed real interest rates may not fully reflect the true state of the desired investment demand-saving supply nexus at the economy-wide level but only at the level of the banking system, which is largely associated with banking sector health.