Skip to content
Subscriber Only

Ecuador Defaulted Last Year. Now Its Bonds Are World’s Best

  • Sovereign notes have returned 28% this year, most in the world
  • ‘Ecuador is becoming a bit of an island in the region’
Updated on

Across the world, government bondholders have seen losses pile up this year as a pickup in inflation and economic growth puts central banks under pressure to raise interest rates.

That makes even more remarkable the windfalls seen in Ecuador, a junk-rated South American nation that was mired in recession even before the pandemic and was forced to restructure $17.4 billion of debt last year -- a step rating companies considered a default.