The May 2022 edition of the Insurance Update provides targeted updates on IIF insurance activities and events.

ECB QE helped anchor Euro periphery yields during COVID, … a welcome step given turmoil in global bond markets at the time. But the stabili...

The widening of the current account deficit has led to a decline in official reserves to critical levels. Reviving the IMF program is necessary to ensure that Pakistan can meet its financing obligations

The IIF has made a submission to the Financial Stability Board (FSB) on KPIs for measuring progress toward the quantitative targets for the G20 Cross-...

Russia has weathered the de-SWIFTing of key banks better than many expected. Investment in domestic payments and messaging systems since 2014 has paid off. Some concerns are being raised about sanctions circumvention via crypto assets. We believe it to be unlikely that Russia can rely on such channels in the near term. The market appears to be too small relative to the country’s trade and capital flows. U.S. and EU sanctions have also been extended to crypto assets and companies.

We update our database of foreign flows to local-currency govies, … where heterogeneity across EM is substantial since covid began. Major EMs like...

Mounting geopolitical tensions risk undermining the international collaboration needed to address global challenges, including efforts to scale up climate finance; Yet delays to climate policies may prove costlier than swift action-which would further exacerbate public debt burdens; Near-term sovereign debt vulnerabilities in major emerging markets have increased substantially this year, but less so than in 2020; these growing debt strains make the challenge of sourcing climate finance more difficult still.

We yesterday published our updated Capital Flows Report, … laying out our latest global growth and capital flows forecasts. Risk is buildin...

We are lowering our global growth forecast due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, … and uncertainty of China’s growth prospects giv...

Sanctions on Russia combined with supply shortages elsewhere may keep oil prices elevated despite lower global demand. Higher global oil supply combined with weaker demand growth could stabilize the oil market in H2 2022 and in 2023

China's State Council unveiled a plan to promote retirement savings, which is sorely needed, given inadequate public and employer pensions. This new retirement savings plan will help deepen China's financial markets and reduce volatility.

Rising borrowing costs and the strength of the USD will exacerbate debt vulnerabilities in emerging markets; With EM budget deficits still running above pre-pandemic levels, higher and more volatile energy prices could force some countries to increase public spending even further; Effective investor relations (IR) programs can play a vital role during times of diminishing market confidence to mitigate contagion by providing investors with a better understanding of policy goals; However, successful IR practices require timely dissemination of relevant information beyond central government debt obligations and fiscal operations. Countries still need to provide more data on ESG priorities and progress.

Our forecasts show the global economy teetering on the brink of recession, … as war in Ukraine, COVID lockdowns in China and a hawkish Fed we...

Total global debt rose by $3.3 trillion in Q1 2022 to a new record of over $305 trillion-mostly due to China and the U.S.

Long-term US yields are rising rapidly fast and global growth slowing, ... a combination that could prove challenging for some emerging markets. ...