Debt levels in the eurozone have reached a record high in spite of an incipient economic recovery in the region, underlining the challenges governments face in tackling the legacy of the sovereign debt crisis.
The European Central Bank’s large-scale programme of quantitative easing has pushed down interest rates to ultra low levels, encouraging governments to borrow more in the early part of this year, despite the continuing turmoil in Greece.
Steven Major, head of fixed income research at HSBC, said the increase was due to “opportunistic borrowing at current low rates by some countries, less austerity by others”. “What’s certain is that anyone who thinks Europe’s debt stock is shrinking is sorely mistaken,” he added.
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