This paper provides a comprehensive survey of pertinent issues on sovereign debt restructurings, based on a newly constructed database. This is the first complete dataset of sovereign restructuring cases, covering the six decades from 1950–2010; it includes 186 debt exchanges with foreign banks and bondholders, and 447 bilateral debt agreements with the Paris Club. We present new stylized facts on the outcome and process of debt restructurings, including on the size of haircuts, creditor participation, and legal aspects. In addition, the paper summarizes the relevant empirical literature, analyzes recent restructuring episodes, and discusses ongoing debates on crisis resolution mechanisms, credit default swaps, and the role of collective action clauses.

The question of intercreditor equity is one of the most contentious issues in debt restructuring, both historically and today. Intercreditor Equity in Sovereign Debt Restructuring maps and establishes the content of these intercreditor equity rules, and examines how they influence the restructuring process.

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This paper takes stock of past episodes of debt restructuring and reviews the relevant literature. Based on cross-country experience from the late 1990s through 2010 of emerging markets it offers some stylized facts.

In discussing the June 2014 paper, Executive Directors broadly supported staff’s proposal to introduce more flexibility into the Fund’s exceptional access framework to reduce unnecessary costs for the member, its creditors, and the overall system. Directors’ views varied on staff’s proposal to eliminate the systemic exemption introduced in 2010. Many Directors favored removing the exemption but some others preferred to retain it and requested staff to consult further with relevant stakeholders on possible approaches to managing contagion. This paper offers specific proposals on how the Fund’s policy framework could be changed, presents staff’s analysis on the specific issue of managing contagion, and addresses some implementation issues. No Board decision is proposed at this stage. The paper is consistent with the Executive Board’s May 2013 endorsement of a work program focused on strengthening market-based approaches to resolving sovereign debt crises.

This paper examines the estimated compliance with the macroeconomic convergence targets for 2008, based on estimates contained in the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa (the REO). SADC’s regional economic integration agenda includes a macroeconomic convergence program, intended to achieve and maintain macroeconomic stability in the region, thereby contributing to faster economic growth and laying the basis for eventual monetary union. Targets for key macroeconomic variables have been set out for 2008, 2012, and 2018. Most SADC member states have recorded solid macroeconomic performance in recent years, in general coming close to, and in many cases surpassing, the convergence targets specified for 2008. A notable exception in this regard is Zimbabwe, which was in the grip of hyperinflation. The macroeconomic targets for 2012 are ambitious and, in some cases, warrant further evaluation, given that achieving the targets may be neither necessary nor sufficient to achieve good macroeconomic results.

This African Department Paper examines the rise in international sovereign bonds issued by African frontier economies and recommends policies for potential first-time issuers.

This book provides the first comprehensive treatment of out-of-court restructuring and post-commencement insolvency financing in the corporate group setting, domestically and internationally. Bringing together a collection of distinguished contributors-academics and practitioners at the forefront of insolvency practice and law reform efforts-the book addresses and critiques "state of the art" practice and work-arounds for financing out-of-court restructurings as well as judicial reorganisations, going-concern liquidations and administration proceedings of financially distressed global business groups. The book opens with a detailed introduction from the editors which provides an overview of domestic law issues and an exploration of principles guiding judicial and administrative cooperation to facilitate group financing in cross-border cases. The final section analyzes regional and global law reform and harmonisation progress to date. This book is a valuable resource for practitioners who must structure (and courts that must approve) financing for global enterprise groups in reorganisation. With another wave of global corporate group failures anticipated, practitioners, courts and policy makers are well served by a work describing cutting-edge advances in this field in domestic and cross-border cases.

This paper describes the evolution of ideas to apply bankruptcy reorganization principles to sovereign debt crises. Our focus is on policy proposals between the late 1970s and Anne Krueger's (2001) proposed "Sovereign Debt-Restructuring Mechanism," with brief reference to the economics literature on sovereign debt. We describe the perceived inefficiencies that motivate proposals, and how proposals seek to change debtor and creditor incentives. We find that there has been a moving concensus on what constitutes the underlying problem, but not on how to fix it. The range of proposed approaches remains broad and only recently shows some signs of narrowing.

"Boilerplate language in contracts tends to stick around long after its origins and purpose have been forgotten. Usually there are no serious repercussions, but sometimes it can cause unexpected problems. Such was the case with the obscure pari passu clause in cross-border sovereign debt contracts, when a Belgian court's novel judicial interpretation in Elliott Associates v. Peru rattled international finance by forcing a defaulting sovereign - for one of the first times in the market's centuries-long history - to repay its foreign creditors despite their refusal to enter into a restructuring agreement. Though neither party wanted this outcome, the vast majority of contracts subsequently issued demonstrate virtually no attempt to clarify the imprecise language of the clause. Using this case as a launching pad to explore the broader issue of 'stickiness' of contract boilerplate, Mitu Gulati and Robert E. Scott have sifted through more than one thousand sovereign debt contracts - dating back to the nineteenth century - and interviewed hundreds of practitioners to show that the problem actually lies in the nature of the modern corporate law firm. The financial pressure on large firms to maintain a high volume of transactions contributes to an array of problems that deter innovation and that are largely hidden from the individual lawyer tasked with drafting contracts. With the near certainty of massive sovereign debt structuring in Europe, The Three and a Half Minute Transaction speaks to critical issues facing the industry and has broader implications for contract design that will ensure it remains relevant to our understanding of legal practice long after the debt crisis has subsided"--Unedited summary from book jacket.