Government Debt in Rough Waters: A Navigation Guide

Reports and studies — New York, Financial Advisory, Sovereign Advisory

September 29, 2020


How governments learn to live with such debt levels or find orderly — or less orderly — ways to reduce them will have a critical impact on people’s lives across the world.

In this report, Lazard’s Sovereign Advisory Group examines ways to improve outcomes for governments facing a debt reckoning. The report explores key characteristics of today’s sovereign debt landscape:

  • The wide variation in public debt levels across countries and the fact that each country’s capacity for debt is highly idiosyncratic
  • The complex policy trade-offs faced by governments at risk of financial distress
  • How a significant evolution in the creditor base is changing the dynamics of debt restructuring
  • How the process of debt restructuring could be made smoother

Download the review to read the findings in full.