It’s really unusual and really distorting the global financial system. Negative rates are like a parallel universe where everything you’ve ever learned about finance and human behaviour is turned upside down. Expected erosion of savings could actually make households more conservative, pulling back on consumption both today and in the future.

In total, SNCF Réseau has so far raised €5.4 billion in green bonds, nearly doubling the figure this year, now ranks seventh in the global green bond issuance market. According to rating agency Moody's, issuers brought $66.6 billion of green bonds to market globally the second quarter of 2019, up 47% on an annualized basis compared to 2018.

The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney has challenged the dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency, arguing that it could be replaced by a global digital alternative. He said a new digital currency backed by a large group of nations would unlock dollar funds that governments currently hoard as an insurance policy in uncertain times.