Credit and credit risk permeates every corner of the financial world. Previously credit tended to be acknowledged only when dealing with counterparty credit risk, high-yield debt or credit-linked derivatives, now it affects all things, including such fundamental concepts as assessing the present value of a future cash flow. The purpose of this book is to analyze credit from the beginning—the point at which any borrowing entity (sovereign, corporate, etc.) decides to raise capital through its treasury operation.

Welcome to an era of diminished expectations and continuing dangers; a world where policymakers must steer between the imminent threat of deflation while countering investors’ (reasonable) fears that swelling public debts and massive monetary easing could eventually lead to high inflation; an uncharted world where government borrowing reaches a scale not seen since the second world war, when capital controls ensured that savings stayed at home.