GLOBAL debt is becoming a bigger worry as the global policy tightening cycle takes hold, the World Bank’s CEO warned yesterday.

“After a decade of low interest rates, the corporate and public debt in many places has ballooned to a staggering US$164 trillion,” said Kristalina Georgieva, chief executive officer of the World Bank. “With interest rates going up, that attention on debt sustainability has to be stronger.”

Central banks across the world are under pressure to follow a Federal Reserve that’s raising interest rates faster than initially anticipated, putting particular stress on emerging markets and developing economies. The need for structural policy changes, including responses to waves of anti-globalization, remains great as policymakers in most economies haven’t taken sufficient action during the extended period of low borrowing costs, Georgieva said.

“We don’t see many countries taking advantage of this period of strong economic growth to carry forward structural reforms,” she said. “And our advice to countries is, do not wait. Good times may not last — they usually do not last forever.”

World debt, including household debt, ballooned to US$237 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to calculations by the Washington-based Institute for International Finance. That’s more than US$70 trillion higher than a decade ago.

Georgieva said countries must take a hard look at the affordability of projects that they are undertaking, including in infrastructure, amid still fairly low interest rates. (SD-Agencies)