Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to provide some ideas as to how to navigate the ‘credit rating impasse’. It provides details of the debt treatment history for the region and how it impacted the region’s development. The financial system is made up of a myriad of components that could be accused of supercharging inequality and instability. The United States has indeed allowed private claimants to sue foreign governments. The credit rating agencies, recognised as not being proactive on behalf of investors in the Financial Crisis, were now making themselves very clear. The book analyzes the impact of the pandemic upon the region, and every element of the credit rating impasse, before concluding with ideas on how to navigate it for the benefit of the citizens of the region.