How has financial market integration affected interest rate movements? âFinancial market integration has increased the speed with which interest rate changes and volatility are transmitted among countriesâ (Saunders & Cornett, 2008, p.206). Countries have to compete with one another for foreign investment money, so when one country is offering more return than another, investors are likely to move money to that country, which in turn causes other countryâs interest rates to rise to compete, and vice versa for borrowers. This means interest rates are likely moving in the same direction