A looming credit crunch was evident even before the Covid-19 pandemic. In December 2019, a report from Robert Triffin International noted that every metric of dollar exposure outside the US was flashing red. “The dollar debt of non-banks outside the United States is at a new record,” the authors warned, and “currency mismatches and leverage in the private sector have increased. The dollar funding of non-US banks looks fragile.”
(Mar 27): With markets already in turmoil, a dollar credit crunch now threatens the world economy. Companies dependent on international trade have seen their earnings collapse, and many will be unable to service their dollar-denominated debts. International banks are facing severe pressure.
The world has learned about the costs of delaying measures to fight a contagious virus. Likewise, the many instruments governments and central banks have to tackle the economic consequences of this health crisis also become less effective the longer policymakers dither.
