The global debt-to-GDP ratio hit an all-time high of 322 per cent in the third quarter of last year, according to a report released Monday by the Institute of International Finance. Debt rose by almost US$10 trillion to US$252.6 trillion from a year earlier, said the Washington-based IIF, which is comprised of the world’s leading financial institutions. The institute expects “low interest rates and loose financial conditions,” to push total global debt to exceed US$257 trillion in the first quarter of 2020. Government debt-to-GDP hit a new high in the U.S. and Australia. Household debt-to-GDP reached a record high in Belgium, Finland, France, Lebanon, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

Source: National Post January 13, 2020 18:56 UTC