SDRM finds few friends in the markets

The sovereign debt restructuring mechanism is the most contentious proposal ever to come out of the upper echelons of the IMF. It is almost universally opposed by the private sector, most emerging-market borrowers think it a very bad idea indeed, and before it has even been drafted it has already been blamed for tens of billions of dollars of decreased capital flows to emerging markets.

Part of the problem is that when the idea of SDRM was first introduced, at the end of 2001, it gave far too much power to the IMF; since then, Fund officials have generally attributed the adverse private-sector reaction to SDRM to a failure to understand the changes that were made to it in April.

But the private sector does understand SDRM, as do borrowers. In a nutshell, it’s a bankruptcy regime for sovereign issuers, where all the major decisions have to be taken by a supermajority of creditors.

Access intelligence that drives action

To unlock this research, enter your email to log in or enquire about access