CEPAL REVIEW 81 65 Unfinished business in the international dialogue on debt Barry Herman Chief, Policy Analysis and Development, From November 2001 to April 2003, the International Financing for Development Office, Monetary Fund grappled with a radical proposal, the Department of Economic Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism, for handling the and Social Affairs, United Nations external debt of insolvent governments of developing and
[email protected] transition economies. That proposal was rejected, but new “collective action clauses” that address some of the difficulties in restructuring bond debt are being introduced. In addition, IMF is developing a pragmatic and eclectic approach to assessing debt sustainability that can be useful to governments and creditors. However, many of the problems in restructuring sovereign debt remain and this paper suggests both specific reforms and modalities for considering them. DECEMBER 2003 66 CEPAL REVIEW 81 • DECEMBER 2003 I Introduction A new sense of calm descended on the international international financial markets and government issuers markets for emerging-economy debt in mid-2003. The alike have accepted them. They address certain concerns calm was seen in rising international market prices of about how the external bond debt of crisis countries is sovereign bonds of emerging economies in the first half restructured, although some market participants of the year and good sales of new bond issues, in discount the likelihood that those concerns were any particular those of Brazil and Mexico, as well as the more than theoretical difficulties. This paper will argue successful completion of Uruguay’s bond exchange that the changes that were adopted leave unresolved offer.