Rising level of corporate debt a risk to global economy – OECD

Companies around world need to repay or refinance as much as $4tn over next three years

The global economy faces escalating risks from rising levels of corporate debt, with companies around the world needing to repay or refinance as much as $4tn (3.1tn) over the next three years, according to the OECD.

Sounding the alarm over the scale of the debt mountain built up over the past decade since the last financial crisis, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that global company borrowing has ballooned to reach $13tn by the end of last year - more than double the level before the 2008 crash.

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