Debt levels in Africa have become an “issue of concern” once more, and could start impacting how regional central banks conduct monetary policy, a Bank for International Settlements paper finds.

The research, by Benedicte Vibe Christensen and Jochen Schanz, concludes debt has not yet reached the point in most African countries where it might render monetary policy “ineffective”. But policy-makers will face a growing trade-off between defending their exchange rates and limiting debt-servicing