Global AAA bond pool 'drops 60%'

The pool of government bonds rated AAA by the three main rating agencies has shrunk by more than 60% since the financial crisis, according to new analysis.

The AAA pool, once home to sovereign debt from the US, UK and France, has contracted by $7trn since the start of 2007.   At that pre-crisis peak, government bonds deemed the safest by S&P, Fitch and Moody’s amounted to $11trn, but now total just $4trn according to analysis by the Financial Times.   The research suggests investors are re-thinking which countries truly are “safe havens”, with Latin American nations such as Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil enjoying the most significant credit upgrades over the period. Though Western economies still dominate the overall list of ...