The Paris Club 1 How Sovereign Debts Are Restructured, and Why an Alternative Is Necessary
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The Paris Club 1 HOW SOVEREIGN DEBTS ARE RESTRUCTURED, AND WHY AN ALTERNATIVE IS NECESSARY ...and why an alternative is necessary Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ p. 4 THE PARIS CLUB IN FIGURES (2019) .............................................. p. 6 SOVEREIGN DEBT: WHO BORROWS, FROM WHOM AND HOW? ......................... p. 8 1. The Paris Club: a how-to guide ............................................. p. 9 1.1. How the Paris Club made itself a key player in debt restructuring for developing countries ............... p. 10 1.2. The very exclusive Club of major bilateral creditors ..... p. 13 1.3. Addressing the concerns of bilateral creditors ............... p. 16 1.4. Four-stage negotiations ......................................................... p. 18 2 1.5. The scope of debts to renegotiate ...................................... p. 20 1.6. A range of ‘terms’, and restructuring on a case-by-case basis ....................... p. 22 The statistical data in this guide are, unless otherwise stated, taken from the World Bank’s online database ‘International Debt Statistics’ (https://databank.worldbank.org/source/international-debt-statistics), as updated on 29 August 2019. The amounts of debt or debt service that illustrate this point relate exclusively to ‘long-term’ debt, i.e. debt with a maturity of more than one year. Short-term debt, in contrast, is generally treated on a specific basis by governments and financial institutions. Similarly, unless otherwise noted, this guide will deal only with external public debt and publicly guaranteed debt contracted by States. The amounts indicated therefore exclude debt contracted by States from their domestic market and unsecured claims contracted from private entities. Amounts in ‘dollars’ are to be understood as United States dollars. The Paris Club: How sovereign debts are restructured... 2. The Paris Club: a critical assessment ................................ p. 27 2.1. A cartel of creditors that denies its responsibilities ....... p. 28 2.2. Too little too late ....................................................................... p. 30 2.3. Creditors that defend their own interests rather than human rights ...................................................... p. 33 2.4. Principles and conditions but no rules of law ................. p. 36 2.5. Lack of clarity in negotiations and agreements .............. p. 37 3. What future for the Paris Club? ......................................... p. 40 3.1. A new debt crisis on the horizon? ........................................ p. 41 3.2. New creditors challenging the Paris Club ......................... p. 45 3.3. The Paris Club multiplies initiatives to maintain its influence ......................................................... p. 52 CONCLUSION: We need an international 3 restructuring mechanism more than ever .......................... p. 54 RECOMMANDATIONS .................................................................... p. 56 HOW CAN CIVIL SOCIETY organisations (CSOs) become involved in monitoring the Paris Club? .............. p. 58 GLOSSARY ........................................................................................ p. 60 ANNEX 1 - Civil Society Statement on the Paris Club at 50: illegitimate and unsustainable ........................................... p. 62 ANNEX 2 - Outstanding Paris Club claims as of 31 December 2018 (in millions of $) .................................... p. 64 ANNEX 3 - Summary table of restructuring carried out by the Paris Club since 1956 ................................................. p. 68 ...and why an alternative is necessary INTRODUCTION about 60 years, the world’s This guide is intended for civil society or- major creditors have been ganisations and activists from Paris Club coming together to form member countries and from the developing Fora ‘Club’ of rich countries. It operates in the countries forced to turn to the Club. It pro- background of the G7 and has become a key vides information and analysis needed to player in international financial relations. Ni- better understanding the Paris Club, how it nety developing countries have been forced operates, and what its role is in the landscape to turn to it, sometimes repeatedly, to seek of sovereign debt restructuring. Its goal is to external debt restructuring. More than 400 encourage involvement by civil society orga- agreements, covering a total of $583 billion nisations in monitoring this forum which is in bilateral debt, have been negotiated within crucial in the current discussions on debt cri- this informal body. sis resolution. 4 This ‘Paris Club’ – for that is its name – has an The first part of this document explains the official purpose: ‘to find coordinated, orderly background of the Club – notably the way and sustainable solutions to debt sustainabi- in which it has established itself as an ines- lity challenges in developing countries’. But capable player in debt restructuring – and negotiations tend to be one-sided, with the presents its guiding principles. It sums up the debtor country in an isolated position faced different stages of a negotiation and presents with this cartel of its creditors. The Paris Club a synthesis of the range of forms for treating imposes its own financial approach, whose debt (the ‘terms’) that may apply to the claims overriding priority is to recover the debts of a State requesting its intervention. owed to its members. Against this backdrop, it does not take into account the basic needs of the people of the indebted countries. The Paris Club: How sovereign debts are restructured... The second part takes a more critical look at The third part raises the question of the fu- the Paris Club. Indeed, underlying the pro- ture of the Paris Club, in a new context of in- mises of ‘coordinated and sustainable so- ternational debt. Indeed, its ability to coordi- lutions’ to debt distress, we can see that the nate major creditors is being undermined by conditions inevitably imposed on the deb- the emergence of new bilateral lenders which tor countries in fact defend the specific in- are not members of the Club, as well as by terests of the creditors. The Paris Club acts an unprecedented increase in bond indebte- as a judge in its own case. It operates in ut- dness on the capital markets. The Paris Club most opacity, and its members deny that they is multiplying initiatives to maintain its in- share responsibility with the debtors in the fluence, while the risks of a new debt crisis in process of debt accumulation. Over the past developing countries increase bit by bit each four decades, the members have failed to re- day. Through this guide, the French Debt solve debt distress, and done even worse to and Development Platform shows that the 5 prevent crises. Despite mobilisation by civil Paris Club is definitely not the right body to society and appeals by many United Nations deal with this new situation. The creation of bodies, the Paris Club and the international a multilateral mechanism for sovereign debt financial institutions still refuse to put hu- restructuring is more necessary than ever. man rights above the rights of creditors. ...and why an alternative is necessary THE PARIS CLUB IN FIGURES (2019) member countries 22 90 debtor countries having requested negotiation 63 years old 6 debt restructuring agreements 433 Up to 14 restructuring agreements negotiated successively with a single country 14 billion of restructured debt $583 billion in claims from $314.7 138 countries (as of 31 December 2018) The Paris Club: How sovereign debts are restructured... Internal Debt External Debt LONG-TERM IMF loans Short-term debt DEBT Non-guaranteed PUBLIC OR PUBLICLY private-sector debt GUARANTEED DEBT 7 OFFICIAL CREDITORS Commercial debt Multilateral Bilateral Private Bonds Other debt debt banks CREDITORS THAT ARE Creditors that are PARIS CLUB MEMBERS Paris Club non-members Figure 1 - Composition of the external public or publicly guaranteed debt ...and why an alternative is necessary Sovereign debt: who borrows, from whom and how? Loans can be contracted by individuals, leads to what is called suspension of businesses and States. The purpose payment), either one is subject to the of the loans may be to finance their decisions (such as bankruptcy, liqui- projects, to invest in infrastructure, dation, seizure of property, etc.) of sometimes to ensure daily household the competent court. But this is not or administrative expenses, and even the case for a State, since there is no – when their incomes are insufficient international court that can impose its – to be able to repay credits that have decisions. In theory, a country can uni- reached maturity. laterally decide to repudiate its debt, as Soviet Russia did in 1917. But in this This guide will focus on public and case the country must be prepared publicly guaranteed debt, i.e. debt to face possible retaliatory actions or contracted by a State or a public enter- measures by its creditors and their al- prise, or by a private enterprise when lies (possible military operations, eco- 8 it has received a guarantee from the nomic sanctions, closing of access to State (in which case the State must step new financing, etc.). This fundamen- in for the private enterprise if the latter tal specificity of State indebtedness is is unable to fulfil its repayment obliga- usually summed up by the term sove- tions). A State or public enterprise may reign debt. borrow