100% of GDP is a level of debt that seems unlikely to be paid back, so presumably most lenders aren't considering whether they'll eventually get their money back, but instead are focussed on getting their interest payments. I suppose the crunch is when alternatives become a better mix of risk/return.
I don't think paying whole thing back has been on table for decent while. The question really comes down to is the return from interest sufficient compared to other options, will the price of underlying asset keeps it value at par. Meaning can you offload it before maturation and not lose. And finally will at maturation refinance be possible.
With money printing or some FED operations I doubt there will be default on principals. It might happen if sufficient political pressure is in place though unlikely. So in the end risk is spiking rates and inflation being foreseen. No point investing on losing bet.
Yeah, there's a constant stream of new investments and paying back of some debts, so as long as some investors are interested, the full repayment never needs to happen.
Of course, as the risk increases, investors will want higher returns to consider it a good bet as otherwise the debt repayments will start to overshadow the new investments.
