Research from Germany's Deutsche Bank shows emerging markets are in better positions now than they were in 2008 to withstand external shocks.
Back in 2008, emerging markets coped with the effects of the
global financial crisis without "structural damage," although a
small number of countries received liquidity support from the
International Monetary Fund, Deutsche Bank’s emerging markets
analyst Markus Jaeger says in the survey.
They adjusted to shocks to their capital and current accounts by
currency depreciation, liquidity support from central banks and
by the contraction of their economies.
The banks’ economists analysed countries’ external financing
requirements (EFR) to study their exposure to a sharp slowdown in
capital flows. EFR shows the ratio of short-term debt, medium-and
long-term debt amortizations and the current account in relation
to foreign exchange reserves. Generally, EFR below 100 percent
mean the country is able to withstand external shocks while those
above show vulnerability.
Judging by EFR, South Korea, Poland and South Africa have
much stronger positions now compared to 2008, while India and
Indonesia have "slightly weaker, but still solid, positions,"
according to Deutsche Bank.
China and Russia showed the best results with EFR ratio below 50
percent. In addition, the two countries have a surplus in their
current accounts and short-term debt of the two countries is less
than half of the state reserves, according to the survey
The only developing country that is not prepared for the crisis
is Turkey – its need for foreign financing has grown since 2008
and is now more than 100 percent of FX.
Overall, emerging markets are more solid than they were five
years ago, as many have put in place regulations that limit the
extent to which banks can run foreign currency risks, according
to Markus Jaeger.
The study supports the Russian authorities when they say Russia
is ready for the crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin said
that the "safety margin" of the Russian economy is formed by high
oil prices and large state reserves. Russia’s foreign exchange
reserves are the fourth largest in the world topping $515bn,
Reuters reports.