London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 04, 2025

Will the UK financial chaos spark a wider meltdown?

Will the UK financial chaos spark a wider meltdown?

The recent chaos on the UK financial markets has generated waves of stress and selling by investors far beyond the UK.

As the sell-offs collide with high inflation, rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine, they have raised fears the turmoil in the UK could set off a wider crisis.

Many analysts have said they believe the fallout is likely to be limited, especially amid signs that the government is reconsidering some of its plans.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked on Friday, and the government has dropped parts of the package of tax cuts that initially sparked the market turmoil.

But the episode has highlighted the financial risks of the current moment.

"Markets are fragile. We have seen vulnerability that's been building over the last decade-plus," Fabio Natalucci, a deputy director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said earlier this week, describing the UK episode as a "warning shot".

"That fragility makes the financial risk much more elevated."


How did this start?


Borrowing costs in the UK shot up last month, triggered by Mr Kwarteng's announcement of £45bn of tax cuts in his mini-budget, which the government said would help reignite economic growth.

But he did not say how he would pay for them, which alarmed investors already worried about the UK's dim economic prospects. They swiftly sold off their holdings of UK government debt, also called bonds or gilts.


Why does this matter?


The sell-off in UK government bonds prompted a dramatic change in their value.

Prices dropped and investors demanded a higher interest rate for holding a riskier investment, creating major volatility in what is usually considered a stable, safe investment.

That kind of swing can have big ripple effects, as investment firms adjust their holdings to cover losses and the increased risk.

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has walked back part of the government's plan but analysts say more is needed to calm markets


In the UK, some of the first cracks appeared at pension funds, giant investment firms that manage people's retirement savings and typically put a big chunk towards investments like government debt.

Facing losses that were at risk of spiralling, pension funds pleaded for help from the Bank of England, which agreed to step in and buy government debt as an emergency intervention. In fact, the Bank of England ended up stepping in three times.

The sudden rise in borrowing costs also meant chaos for the UK housing market, where mortgage rates on typical two and five-year fixed deals have jumped to more than 6% for the first time in over a decade.

Analysts expect the rise in mortgage rates to spark a fall in property prices, meaning that another investment often seen as pretty safe is suffering a major, rapid change in value.


How has this affected other countries?


Interest rates on some US and European government debt have also jumped alongside the UK's.

And as UK firms respond to the changing market, they have dumped some of their riskier assets, creating knock-on effects.

For example, selling of collateralised loan obligations (CLOs), a term for bundles of corporate debt, jumped in the weeks after the UK announcement, the Wall Street Journal reported. That is a part of the market that some already saw as full of financial risks.

"There is a general sense of unease in financial markets because we never know where the landmines are buried," said economist Barry Eichengreen, professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

"People are worried about which insurance companies and which pension funds and which bond markets are in a delicate state at the moment and we never know for sure.

"When bad things happen anywhere, people pause and global risk aversion rises."


So will this become a global financial crisis?


IMF officials said last week that global financial instability was now verging on crisis levels, as investors pull back.

"We are certainly at a stressed moment," said Tobias Adrian, financial counsellor at the IMF warned, noting that indicators of strain, like demand for dollars, have surged. "The only times when things were worse was in times of acute crisis."

Analysts say the pound could fall below the dollar


The organisation did not forecast a major financial blow-up, noting that the traditional banking system in major economies like the US and UK has become more resilient in response to regulations imposed after the 2008 financial crisis.

But there are more vulnerabilities in emerging markets, where the Fund estimates that 29% of banks are at risk of financial problems in the event of a sudden, serious downturn.

In the US and UK, officials are also worried about unknown problems in the large "shadow banking" system - where investors develop and trade debt products largely outside the view of regulators.

As central banks around the world raise interest rates, those piles of debt may come under strain.

"When we look at the safety and soundness of the financial system... we should look at not only the banks but also the non-bank lenders," Ben Bernanke, who led the US central bank during the 2008 financial crisis, warned on Monday.

He was speaking at a press conference that was supposed to be about his winning the Nobel prize in economics, but was dominated by questions about the current economic risks.

For now, the turmoil stemming from the UK appears to be a "bump in the road," Jamie Dimon, head of US bank colossus JP Morgan said Friday.

But he warned: "There are going to be other surprises".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×