BIS Quarterly Review - September 2020 - International banking and financial market developments

Oct 3, 2026

BIS Quarterly Review September 2020 presents international banking and financial market developments, outlining how markets evolve amid a subdued economic recovery and the disruptions linked to Covid-19. It reviews drivers such as valuation dynamics, bond-market conditions, and cross-currency pressures affecting the US dollar. The special features examine cross-border commercial real estate investment in Asia-Pacific, green bonds and firm-level rating questions, buybacks and leverage-related risk, and cross-border linkages between banks and non-bank financial institutions, including vulnerabilities from the Covid-19 shock.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages119

Reading Time5 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Markets rise despite subdued economic recovery

Stretched valuations in the aftermath of the pandemic

Lower bond yields on supportive policies

Headwinds build up against the US dollar

Box A: Banks through Covid-19

Box B: The short and long end of equity prices during the pandemic

Special features

Cross-border commercial real estate investment in Asia-Pacific

Green bonds and carbon emissions: exploring the case for a rating system at the firm level

Mind the buybacks, beware of the leverage

Cross-border links between banks and non-bank financial institutions

BIS statistics: charts

BIS Quarterly Review International banking and financial BIS market developments September 2020 BIS Quarterly Review Monetary and Economic Department Editorial Committee: Claudio Borio Stijn Claessens Benoît Mojon Hyun Song Shin Nikola Tarashev General queries concerning this commentary should be addressed to Nikola Tarashev (tel +41 61 280 9213, e-mail: [nikola.tarashev@bis.org](nikola.tarashev@bis.org)), queries concerning specific parts to the authors, whose details appear at the head of each section, and queries concerning the statistics to Patrick McGuire (tel +41 61 280 8921, e-mail: [patrick.mcguire@bis.org](patrick.mcguire@bis.org)). This publication is available on the BIS website ([http://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qt2009.htm](http://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qt2009.htm)). © Bank for International Settlements 2020. All rights reserved. Brief excerpts may be reproduced or translated provided the source is stated. ISSN 1683-0121 (print) ISSN 1683-013X (online) BIS Quarterly Review September 2020 International banking and financial market developments Markets rise despite subdued economic recovery ............................................................... 1 Stretched valuations in the aftermath of the pandemic ........................................... 2 Lower bond yields on supportive policies....................................................................... 6 Headwinds build up against the US dollar...................................................................... 8 Box A: Banks through Covid-19 ......................................................................................... 11 Box B: The short and long end of equity prices during the pandemic............................................................................................................. 13 Special features Cross-border commercial real estate investment in Asia-Pacific ................................ 15 Amanda Liu, Ilhyock Shim and Vladyslav Sushko Definition of CRE and classification of investors ...................................................... 16 Asia-Pacific CRE markets and cross-border investment ........................................ 18 Box A: Asia-Pacific regional REIT markets and their role in cross-border investment .............................................................................................. 21 Box B: Foreign currency funding of real investors in Asia-Pacific commercial real estate ............................................................................... 22 Drivers of cross-border investment ............................................................................... 23 Developments during Covid-19 ...................................................................................... 25 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 27 Green bonds and carbon emissions: exploring the case for a rating system at the firm level ................................................................................................... 31 Torsten Ehlers, Benoit Mojon and Frank Packer Green bond issuers and carbon intensities.................................................................. 33 Box A: Carbon emissions data and firm disclosure................................................... 36 Desirable properties of a firm-level green rating system....................................... 39 A stylised example of a carbon intensity-based rating system............................ 41 Box B: Rating uplifts to provide extra incentives for Paris-aligned emission reductions ................................................................................. 44 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 45 BIS Quarterly Review, September 2020 iii Mind

FAQs

What market themes does the BIS Quarterly Review highlight for September 2020?

It highlights market performance despite subdued recovery, stretched valuations after the pandemic, lower bond yields supported by policy, and headwinds building against the US dollar.

What does the review include under “Special features”?

It includes analyses on cross-border commercial real estate investment in Asia-Pacific, green bonds and carbon emissions with a firm-level rating system case, buybacks and leverage-related risk, and cross-border links between banks and non-bank financial institutions.

Which topics related to Covid-19 are directly addressed?

The contents reference Covid-19 impacts through boxes on banks and equity prices, coverage of developments during Covid-19 in the CRE feature, and vulnerabilities from the Covid-19 shock in the bank-to-NBFI links feature.

Oct 3, 2026

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