By Vitor Gaspar, Apulo Medas, and Roberto Perrelli (*) – In 2020, we observed the largest one-year debt surge since World War II, with global debt rising to US$ 226 trillion as the world was hit by a global health crisis and a deep recession. Debt was already elevated going into the crisis, but now governments must navigate a world of record-high public and private debt levels, new virus mutations, and rising inflation.
Brazil's economic crisis has led to an unprecedented number of households being unable to repey their debts, it was reported Thursday.
South American debt in local currency has become a painful experience for international investors, with little signals of relief and reversal of the situation.
Peru's economy could plummet by more than 20% if unpaid consumer debts continue to mount, a scenario the government hopes to stave off with an emergency plan to reschedule troubled loans with state guarantees, the government said on Thursday.
Ecuador will extend the deadline for creditors to vote on its US$ 17.4 billion debt restructuring plan to Monday following a lawsuit by a small group of bondholders, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
Ecuador pushed forward with its debt overhaul plans on Monday, requesting a vote among its creditors on reconfiguring the terms of US$ 17.4 billion of its external bonds, with its largest group of creditors backing the proposal.
Uruguay raised US$ 2 billion from a dual-currency debt deal on Wednesday, issuing UYU47.1 billion (US$ 1.12 billion) in new inflation-linked, 20-year notes and adding US$ 400 million to its 4.375% 2031 bonds, plus a rescheduling of US$ 500 million in 2027, 2028 and 2030 Indexed Units.
Argentina has extended confidentiality agreements with creditors by one day to allow further negotiations as the two sides seek a last-ditch agreement to restructure around US$ 65 billion in debt.
Argentina's Economy Minister Martin Guzman has given the country's biggest bondholders until this Friday to accept the offer he has put on the table to suspend payments until 2023 and reduce interest rates thereafter. One of the largest of those creditors, the investment management firm BlackRock, rejected Guzman's proposal and immediately presented a counteroffer.
Ecuador received a temporary reprieve over the weekend when the government announced that a sufficient number of investors had agreed to a consent solicitation to defer interest payments.