Overall Market Backdrop, July:
- The Bank Of Japan increased its limit on ten-year government-bond yields from 0.5% to 1%, leading to ten-year yields reaching c.0.6%, the highest in almost ten years.
- On July 26th, the Federal Reserve (Fed) increased the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the highest level in 22 years.
- The FCA is implementing a new Consumer Duty that mandates “fair outcomes”, and banks with the lowest rates will be required to justify their products’ compliance by the end of August, with failure to do so potentially resulting in regulatory action.