

Credit Currents - Moody's Ratings
Giulia Calcabrini, Chandra Ghosal, Patrick Ronk
Join Moody’s Ratings’ analysts every other Thursday as they break down the biggest stories in credit and why they matter.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 17, 2021 • 14min
Sovereign wealth fund drawdowns will help meet elevated funding needs across Gulf
Inside this episodeAlexander Perjessy and Thaddeus Best of the Sovereign team discuss our forecasts for a protracted recovery of Gulf Cooperation Council economies this year, and the unique availability of these governments to tap into sovereign wealth fund assets to plug their fiscal deficits.Related ContentMoody's Emerging Markets Hub Bringing clarity to ever-shifting credit dynamics across emerging economies.Sovereigns – Gulf Cooperation Council 2021 outlook negative as pandemic curbs fiscal strength, adds to labour challenges The pandemic will dampen oil revenue, extending the deterioration in fiscal strength experienced in 2020, while constraining government spending and slowing the economic recovery.Sovereign and Supranational — Sovereigns – Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, Oman most exposed to diminishing fiscal uplift from SWFs The coronavirus-driven decline in oil demand and prices has significantly increased gross financing requirements for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
© 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All rights reserved. Go to www.moodys.com/pages/globaldisclaimer.aspx for complete legal terms and conditions governing use of Moody’s information made available in this video. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Feb 3, 2021 • 15min
Climate risks and income inequality are prime ESG risks for EM governments
Inside this episodeMarie Diron and Daniela Re Fraschini from the Sovereign team discuss our new environmental, social and governance (ESG) sovereign scores and how sustainability issues contribute to credit risks for emerging market countries.Related ContentMoody's Emerging Markets Hub Bringing clarity to ever-shifting credit dynamics across emerging economies.Sovereigns – Global Explanatory Comment: New scores depict varied and largely credit-negative impact of ESG factors Considering exposure to environmental and social risk, governance strength, and financial and institutional buffers, ESG factors commonly have a negative impact on sovereign ratings.CROSS-SECTOR RATING METHODOLOGY: General Principles for Assessing Environmental, Social and Governance Risks Methodology This methodology describes our General Principles for Assessing Environmental, Social and Governance Risks.
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Jan 20, 2021 • 15min
Latin America grapples with slow economic recovery, rising social demands
Inside this episodeJaime Reusche and Gabriel Torres of the Sovereign team discuss our negative credit outlook on Latin American sovereigns. Although we expect the region to broadly return to GDP growth in 2021, economic revival will take time and pressure on governments to boost spending on social programs will build in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.Related ContentMoody's Emerging Markets Hub Bringing clarity to ever-shifting credit dynamics across emerging economies.Sovereigns – Latin America & Caribbean: 2021 outlook negative as social pressures rise amid subdued recovery from pandemic Subpar medium-term growth prospects and rising social pressures will challenge governments’ ability to restore lost fiscal space, pressuring creditworthiness in the region. As LatAm sovereigns emerge from the pandemic with higher debt and interest burdens, we expect fiscal strength to weaken.
© 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All rights reserved. Go to www.moodys.com/pages/globaldisclaimer.aspx for complete legal terms and conditions governing use of Moody’s information made available in this video. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jan 6, 2021 • 16min
Credit stress will persist in Sub-Saharan Africa amid bumpy economic recovery
Inside this episodeAurelien Mali and David Rogovic of the Sovereign team discuss the economic and credit implications for Sub-Saharan Africa of weaker global demand and constrained access to financing, as well as how a more diverse creditor base complicates debt negotiations and liquidity relief for countries in the region with lower credit quality.Related ContentMoody's Emerging Markets Hub Bringing clarity to ever-shifting credit dynamics across emerging economies.Sovereign Monitor: Impact of coronavirus on Sub-Saharan Africa, November 2020 Sovereign and Supranational - Sub-Saharan Africa: More dispersed creditor base complicates potential debt restructuring negotiations. The willingness of Chinese creditors to accept losses on principal in particular will have important implications for potential losses incurred by bondholders.
© 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All rights reserved. Go to www.moodys.com/pages/globaldisclaimer.aspx for complete legal terms and conditions governing use of Moody’s information made available in this video. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dec 9, 2020 • 15min
Social trends take hold as a driver of emerging market credit and financing
Inside this episodeAnushka Shah of the Sovereign team discusses how the coronavirus is exacerbating income inequality across emerging Asia, which will pose challenges to governments with weak social protection systems and low capacity to raise spending. Also, Matthew Kuchtyak of the ESG team looks at the growing importance of social issues for global investors, as reflected in the recent record issuance of sustainable bonds.Related content:Moody's Emerging Markets Hub Bringing clarity to ever-shifting credit dynamics across emerging economies.Sovereign and Supranational — Asia Pacific: Pandemic shock will spur income inequality, with credit risks for fiscally weak sovereigns The impact of the coronavirus pandemic will exacerbate income inequality across Asia Pacific (APAC). Governments with constrained fiscal capacity have limited scope to address the resulting social and political strains, which could amplify credit risks.Cross-Sector — Sustainable Finance – Global: Record issuance of sustainable bonds in Q3 2020 as green bond volumes recover Global green, social and sustainability bond issuance totalled a record $127.3 billion in the third quarter of 2020, 30% higher than the previous record achieved during Q2 2020.
© 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All rights reserved. Go to www.moodys.com/pages/globaldisclaimer.aspx for complete legal terms and conditions governing use of Moody’s information made available in this video. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 25, 2020 • 14min
Assessing the future of China’s Belt & Road and ESG risks in emerging markets
Inside this episode:Michael Taylor and Lillian Li of the Credit Strategy & Research team discuss the rising credit strains on many emerging market countries that are part of the Belt & Road Initiative and the direction of the plan post-pandemic. Plus, analyst Nishad Majmudar talks about our analysis of ESG-related credit considerations in emerging market rating actions across sectors.Related content:Moody's Emerging Markets Hub Bringing clarity to ever-shifting credit dynamics across emerging economies.Post-pandemic credit stress points to leaner, greener future for Belt and Road The coronavirus crisis and global economic downturn have exacerbated underlying credit risks that have built up in recent years across many countries that participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.ESG risks are prevalent in emerging markets, especially in the public sector Environmental, social and governance risks are often higher in emerging markets than in developed markets and debt issuers' capacity to address these risks is often weaker.
© 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All rights reserved. Go to www.moodys.com/pages/globaldisclaimer.aspx for complete legal terms and conditions governing use of Moody’s information made available in this video. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nov 16, 2020 • 16min
Credit conditions will be mixed across emerging markets amid uneven COVID-19 recovery
Inside this episode:Analysts Sarah Carlson, Eugene Tarzimanov and Carolina Chimenti discuss the 2021 credit outlook for sovereigns, banks and companies across emerging market countries. The wide-ranging effects of the coronavirus will continue to be a dominant credit theme, along with still-weak tourism prospects, low oil prices and the rollback of forbearance and fiscal support in a number of countries.Related content:Tentative recovery for global emerging markets in 2021. While we expect a bounce in headline GDP growth, emerging market credit conditions will remain fragile and vulnerable to setbacks. Several important factors, including the ability to restore revenue and earnings and adapt to emerging opportunities and threats, will shape performance across regions, sectors and asset classes.Moody's Emerging Markets Hub Bringing clarity to ever-shifting credit dynamics across emerging economies.
© 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All rights reserved. Go to www.moodys.com/pages/globaldisclaimer.aspx for complete legal terms and conditions governing use of Moody’s information made available in this video. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Oct 28, 2020 • 13min
EM government revenue is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2021
Inside this episode:Lucie Villa of the Sovereign team explains how the path to fiscal repair for many emerging market economies will likely be long and bumpy as revenue generation remains a struggle.Plus, William Foster, also of the Sovereign team, discusses whether India’s new fiscal stimulus push will be sufficient to jumpstart the country’s economy.Related content:Second round of stimulus will provide limited support to growth, highlights credit-negative fiscal constraintsRecovering revenue post coronavirus crisis will be crucial but challengingMoody's Event: State of Nations - EMEA and Americas
© 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All rights reserved. Go to www.moodys.com/pages/globaldisclaimer.aspx for complete legal terms and conditions governing use of Moody’s information made available in this video. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Oct 14, 2020 • 15min
China ramps up infrastructure spending to galvanize economic growth
Original publish date: October 14, 2020Inside this episode:Ivy Poon of the Infrastructure Finance team discusses how fiscal support will help offset the rise in leverage for infrastructure issuers resulting from increased capital spending on transportation, renewable energy and other projects.Celina Vansetti-Hutchins of the Banking team explains what the rapid drop in Brazilian interest rates this year means for credit conditions for the country’s banks.Related content:Falling lending spreads amid record-low rates are credit negative for Brazilian banksPolicy support for infrastructure investment will aid economic recovery
© 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All rights reserved. Go to www.moodys.com/pages/globaldisclaimer.aspx for complete legal terms and conditions governing use of Moody’s information made available in this video. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sep 30, 2020 • 15min
Government stress weighs on African banks; Lebanon’s economic conditions deteriorate
Original publish date: September 30, 2020Inside this episode:Constantinos Kypreos of the Banking team talks about the mounting credit strains on African banks, a reflection of the weakening financial strength of their home countries.Elisa Parisi-Capone of the Sovereign team examines the credit effects of Lebanon’s economic, financial and social crisis, as well as the potential for reforms.Related content:Pressures on sovereigns from coronavirus crisis weakens banks’ credit profilesSovereign and Supranational - Government of Lebanon - C No Outlook: Annual credit analysis
© 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All rights reserved. Go to www.moodys.com/pages/globaldisclaimer.aspx for complete legal terms and conditions governing use of Moody’s information made available in this video. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.


