There is little risk of a global financial meltdown caused by too much borrowing, according to a comprehensive new study from Credit Suisse — despite a record debt pile of $250tn, three times the world’s gross domestic product.

The report, published by the bank’s in-house research institute on January 22, concluded that some parts of the debt markets look “worrisome” — particularly corporate bonds in the US. But overall, low interest rates and reasonable global growth prospects mean elevated levels of borrowing are not necessarily a problem.