Shadow banking system any clearer?

There's been some big-picture talk as of late about the so-called shadow banking system. The banking world of old was all about gathering assets, making loans and selling bonds. That world hasn't existed in many years. But the credit crisis has certainly made clear that the new system has made the old obsolete. Some call it "vehicular finance," which refers to the practice of passing on risk at every turn by all sorts of new financial vehicles. Swaps and CDO are but two examples. But at the end of the gravy train is someone or some company that has to make a payment. And that's the bottom line. One could argue for a new updated regulatory structure but as long as those end debtors keep paying the system keeps working. Which brings me to that question I still can't answer. What's next?  

For more:
- here's some Financial Times commentary