Alessandro Roccati from the Banking team explains how coronavirus-driven demand for contactless digital financial services, along with remote work, are raising the cyber threat to banks. Plus, Steve Tu of the Asset Management team looks at how the latest US government intervention in money markets could signal an eventual phaseout of institutional prime funds.​​

The trailing 12-month global speculative-grade corporate default rate rose to 6.1% at the end of July, up from 5.5% in June and 2.4% in July 2019. The default rate is at its highest level in a decade, as the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown weighs heavily on companies' earnings and on credit conditions.

The risk of private-sector creditors being asked to incur losses in all or most cases of the G-20’s debt service suspension initiative for highly indebted countries has diminished over the last few months, but some risks remain in individual cases.