Romania, Among Emerging Mkts Most Exposed To Credit Squeeze – S&P

"We believe Eastern European sovereigns are the most exposed, while Asian and Latin American sovereigns, with their trade surpluses and large foreign exchange reserves, are generally better insulated against the dearth of financial flows that may be in store if the global economy declines more sharply," said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Moritz Kraemer.

Chile is the least vulnerable owing to its robust external and government balance sheet, followed by China, Venezuela, Trinidad-Tobago and Nigeria.

S&P said sovereign downgrades and negative outlook actions have been concentrated among these most vulnerable sovereigns, whereas the least affected generally had positive rating actions, the report says. Domestic political issues were the usual cause for the exceptions to this pattern.