BIS Quarterly Review (September 2026): yields climb, yet risk appetite holds firmWorries about government debt pushed long-term rates up, but investors stayed bold
On September 14, 2026 the BIS published its Quarterly Review. It says flare-ups in geopolitical tensions tested the positive momentum of the first half of the year, with hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz heightening uncertainty about the inflation and monetary policy outlook. With concerns about fiscal burdens added, government bond yields rose and AI-led equity momentum wobbled, but investors’ risk appetite proved resilient on the whole.The BIS, an international organisation, has summed up what happened in the world’s financial markets. Rising tension in the Middle East and worries that governments are borrowing too much pushed long-term interest rates up. Momentum in AI-related shares wobbled a little, but investors’ willingness to take risks stayed strong overall.
- (1) Long ratesGovernment bond yields rose; higher term premia were one cause
- (2) AI momentumIt wobbled on valuation and overinvestment concerns, and money moved to other sectors and countries
- (3) Bond marketCredit markets were relatively unscathed even as big tech issued far more bonds
- ○Applies: Worries about government debt pushed long-term rates up
- ○Applies: Momentum in AI-related shares wobbled a little
- ×Does not apply: Investors’ willingness to take risks disappeared completely
- ○Applies: The market for companies’ borrowing was mostly calm