Mumbai, Oct. 15 -- Household debt burden has stayed moderate even though global interest rates have risen, IMF noted in its October release of global financial stability report. On the liability side, household debt-service ratios have broadly improved in recent quarters across countries and remain appreciably lower than the peak levels reached after central banks across the world began to hike interest rates in 2022. Countries with more floating-rate mortgages tend to have higher debt-service ratios and are more sensitive to interest rate resets. Meanwhile, household assets have been boosted by a strong equity market and elevated house prices.
Globally, households' equity and real estate holdings account for roughly 20 and 40 percent of t...