I'm not sure it's particularly sudden influx, but rather a reaction to economic conditions changing. When money is cheap, economies are expanding, and the equit

I'm not sure it's particularly sudden influx, but rather a reaction to economic conditions changing. When money is cheap, economies are expanding, and the equity markets are going gang-busters as a result (from late 2009 [or maybe back to late 2002] through late 2021), it's a relatively easy environment to borrow to expand your business [as an operating company] or to engineer returns to shareholders above the risk-free investment alternatives [as a financial company]. Now, risk-free investments (such as a 30-year US Treasury) are yielding 3x what they yielded just 3 years ago. That dramatically changes the calculus when considering whether to invest in a risk-free or a risk-on asset. To me, it would be weird if companies acted the same way in such a different environment rather than weird that they act differently.