The ratio of general government debt to GDP is still high. In 2008 that ratio stood at around 110%. It is now around 179%. The debt path has been strongly affected by the so-called snowball effect – that arises from interest rates on debt being much higher than growth. Indeed, from 2010 to 2016, the snowball effect is estimated at some 82% of GDP.
The experience during the recent financial crisis, when a number of central banks expanded the scope of their lender of last resort coverage (for example, the Fed provided liquidity to mutual funds, the Bank of England started providing liquidity support to selected broker-dealers and central counterparties and similar arrangements were made by the Bank of Japan) should be a starting point for a systematic approach to these issues.