Gopinath said the economic crisis triggered by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic was more global and playing out differently than past crises, with the services sector hit harder than manufacturing in both advanced and emerging market economies, and inflation low across the board.

“Investments held in corporate bonds are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of an economic recession, with some businesses likely to default on payments. Insurers operating in the US are heavily invested in corporate bonds compared to their UK counterparts, and US life insurers in particular are more vulnerable to the downturn – given almost three quarters of their investments are in this area. This is especially true in the life sector where there is a 49.7 percentage-point difference between investments in corporate bonds. It also illustrates that the UK has a certain amount locked up in the relatively safe government securities, while this is not available in the US.”