Commercial & Industrial loans from banks are on the decline, and lending to Main Street and consumers from non-bank financial institutions (NFBIs) is on the rise. But here’s the paradox: traditional banks are fuelling this rise of NFBIs by lending capital to what were once their competitors.

While this systemic shift plays out among lenders, there are questions about whether post-global financial crash regulations – such as stress testing and liquidity requirements – are keeping pace with this market as it grows. Could further growth in this $1 trillion market threaten the stability of the wider banking system?

In Episode 73 of The Flip Side podcast, our Global Head of Research Brad Rogoff and Senior High Grade Financials Analyst Pete Troisi debate whether the risks outweigh the opportunities in this evolving market.

US Treasury bonds are widely regarded as the “world’s risk-free asset.” However, in recent weeks, global investors have increasingly shied away from 30-year US bonds, opting for flexible, shorter-term maturities, due to a combination of growing interest rate risk, sticky inflation and economic uncertainty.

As a result, 30-year interest rates are within striking distance of their highest level since the global financial crisis. This demand for risk premium is not limited just to US long-dated bonds; UK gilts and Japanese 30-year bonds have also experienced new highs recently, suggesting the bond market could be starting to rebel.

In episode 72 of the Flip Side podcast, our Global Head of Research Brad Rogoff joins Global Chairman of Research Ajay Rajadhyaksha to assess the situation and debate whether the high rates are transitory or here to stay.

Clients of Barclays Investment Bank can read further analysis of these topics in the latest Global Rates Weekly titled ‘Unusual uncertainty’ on Barclays Live.

Following the 2024 US election, predictions of a dollar rally were easy to come by, based on the presumption that President Trump would implement his proposed trade agenda. While Liberation Day and subsequent trade negotiations see some of those expectations realised, the dollar rally hasn’t materialised. In fact, the narrative has turned to widespread concern that the age of the “mighty dollar” is coming to an end.

With investors seemingly losing faith in the Greenback, Global Head of Research Brad Rogoff sits down with Themos Fiotakis, Head of FX Research, to discuss whether cyclical issues, including new trade policies, are squeezing the dollar or if more structural forces, such as the longer term de-dollarisation of reserves, are at play.

Clients of Barclays Investment Bank can read further analysis of these topics in ‘The end of the dollar as we know it?’ on Barclays Live.

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