Sovereign Debt

Catching Up

07/04/15

So I've been off the grid for a few weeks, and of course after months of little to talk about, the world gave us a bounty of stories about financial distress, and related topics, each of which would merit its own post. But I'm going to hit them quickly to get caught up again this holiday weekend:

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More on AIG: Between Hysteria and Complacency

06/16/15

I agree with Adam about all that post-Starr hyperventilation. No, it does not mean that bailouts are over, that the Fed has been slapped down, or any of that lurid stuff.

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No Evading Illinois Pension Woes

05/12/15

The Illinois Supreme Court issued its unanimous opinion this past Friday putting a stake through the heart of the legislature's latest attempt to evade its responsibility for woefully underfunding four of the state's five public pensions.

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Ukraine's Bond Restructuring: Surgery, Conspiracy, and Campaign

04/17/15

Debt restructuring is the second largest source of outside financing for Ukraine’s new IMF program.

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Russia's Bond: It's Official! (... and Private ... and Anything Else It Wants to Be ...)

04/17/15

Ukraine's bond restructuring talks are in high gear, and, as ever, Russia is trouble du jour. Not only is it threatening to hold out in the bond deal and take Ukraine to arbitration, Russia also seems poised to block IMF disbursements to Ukraine using an arcane Fund policy on "lending into arrears." My hunch is that this last risk is overblown, and in any event should not drive IMF policy or Ukraine's restructuring strategy. 

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Negating Russia's Veto Over Ukraine's IMF Package

04/12/15

This is a joint post by Mark Weidemaier and Mitu Gulati.

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Ukraine's Russian Problem, Part 2

03/29/15

Ukraine is telling investors it must trim external debt by $15.3 billion. Its bonds have CACs but no aggregation, and a 50% vote is needed to bind holdouts.

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Ukraine: One Debt Tea Leaf in the IMF Program

03/12/15

The IMF has approved a new 4-year $17.5 billion program for Ukraine, with an immediate disbursement of $5 billion. This is a big economic, institutional, and geopolitical deal.

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