Restructuring Sovereign Debt: The Case for Ad Hoc Machinery
"In this useful reference, Rieffel, for many years an official at the U.S. Treasury, provides a thorough account of the post-1950 evolution of procedures for dealing with sovereign debt owed to both official and private creditors. After critically examining proposals for major institutional overhauls, he vigorously defends the ad hoc, evolutionary approach, while offering his own recommendations for modest improvements on current practices." —Richard N. Cooper,Foreign Affairs, 1/1/2004"... Rieffel writes with authority on the history of developing countries' debt crises. He describes this difficult and complex subject concisely and meticulously.... The first four chapters are an excellent primer on the subject, and could stand alone. The later chapters provide a wealth of detail.... getabstract.com recommends this book to bankers involved with making loans to foreign countries, to government policymakers in borrower countries and lender countries, and to anyone seeking a detailed exploration of how countries pay their debts." —getAbstract, 7/1/2004"An impressive sum of work on sixty years of sovereign debt restructuring practices and heated debates over the role of the public and the private sector. While we may not agree on all views, Lex Rieffel's book gives a well-informed and challenging insider's view on the Paris Club and very useful historical background, which will help make our procedure more understandable to the public." —Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Paris Club Chairman"A true masterpiece dealing with one of the most complex and topical issues of international finance. To my knowledge, this is the most comprehensive and well-documented book on the subject. Rieffel covers not only the detailed history of the different debt crises but also analyzes the evolution of the specific instruments and methods which have been used to resolve these problems. For students, researchers, practitioners, issuers, creditors, and international finance organizations, this book will provide an invaluable treasure of information and reflection." —Jacques de Larosiere, adviser to the chairman, BNP Paribas, and former managing director; International Monetary Fund"Much of the current literature on sovereign debt is profoundly critical of the ways in which debt crises have been handled. Rieffel takes a different tack. He provides a compact, readable account of a complex story that is not readily available elsewhere. He then uses it to fashion a trenchant defense of the customized, case-by-case approach adopted initially in the 1980s. He argues forcefully for further adaptation rather than dramatic innovation." —Peter B. Kenen, Walker Professor of Economics and International Finance, Princeton University"As one who has chaired numerous country negotiations over two decades, I appreciate Lex Rieffel's understanding of the political forces that vary from case to case. He successfully makes the argument that the case-by-case process is the only realistic approach to sovereign debt restructuring. His book explains the nuts and bolts of restructuring and he fully understands the London Club process. He reminds us that successful agreements depend on ever-closer cooperation among all parties, including borrower countries, creditor countries, mulitilateral agencies and private creditors." —William R. Rhodes, Citigroup senior vice chairman and Citibank chairman