Following financial market deregulation in the mid-eighties, the relative importance of sources of credit for the household, agriculture and business sectors changed markedly. This article examines the changing shape of the credit market for each sector since 1980, with a special focus on credit for agriculture. Changes in the relative size of these three main credit markets are traced from the time of deregulation, showing how fast credit to each sector has grown and the impact of their credit demands on the growth of private sector overseas debt to 2000.