This article sets forth some reflections on the position of the region's countries and the different segments of their domestic financial structures in the international financial system. In the light of the financial globalization taking place in Latin America, it considers the circumstances of the largest countries in the region, looking beyond the stylized arguments of conventional wisdom to analyse different factors influencing the financial situation: sovereignty risk, financial globalization, the degree of financial integration, the cost of capital and the burden of country risk premiums, the link between sovereign risk and fiscal solvency and the consequences of segmented integration. Consideration is then given to courses of action that could reduce country risk. In addition, the role of the different institutional sectors in generating savings is analysed, and the main trends of financial intermediation in the region are considered: banking concentration, the increased involvement of foreign organizations and the role of the public-sector banking system in the circumstances that now prevail.