all cases a collaborative framework to facilitate negotiations and co - operation between a sovereign debtor and its creditors, and also to overcome possible co - ordination problems between different creditor groups, seems to be envisaged. these general principles seem to me to have much in common with the themes underlying the ilg ’ s corporate workout principles. they also include several other suggestions to enhance creditor co - ordination, such as the inclusion of collective action clauses in bond contracts and, more widely, the use of ” creditor country clubs ” as a conduit for information exchanges. the key to all this is, in my view, the creditor co - ordination issue. a failure of creditor co - ordination in the sovereign context can lead to cancellation of longer - term investment projects and protracted exclusion from international capital markets. the private sector groups argue that, when a sovereign encounters financial difficulties likely to trigger a debt default, it should encourage a process of dialogue between the affected creditors and the sovereign. that should involve co - operation to facilitate a full exchange of information and analysis relating to the current financial situation and prospects of the sovereign. this will be easier if the country has already taken the necessary action to improve data availability and transparency and to meet relevant imf data standards and codes. there is a close parallel with the way in which corporate and financial sector restructurings are governed by independent reviews based on full exchanges of information on the corporate ’ s or bank ’ s financial position. in both cases, it is essential that those analysing the debtor ’ s financial position ( the imf in the sovereign context and the independent accountants in a corporate case ) are able to distinguish between different types of default. more effective monitoring should improve the discipline on the debtor and facilitate the extension of more lending by the private creditors in both cases. another area where sovereign debt workouts could borrow from corporate and financial restructurings is in possible recourse to a neutral mediator, charged with facilitating a co - operative creditor solution. in the sovereign context, one possible facilitator might be the imf. it would certainly have the resources and expertise to do the job, although one possible drawback is that the imf, unlike an arbiter in a corporate workout, will sometimes itself have claims on the debtor, in this case the sovereign. and this raises a separate issue of whether, or in what circumstances, the imf might provide financial support during a sovereign debt workout –

mr. george discusses the problems in asia and considers the risks they pose to the global economy speech by the governor of the bank of england, mr. e. a. j. george, at the british - american chamber of commerce lunch in london on 22 / 1 / 98. the role of the chamber is to promote anglo - american trade and investment, and you ’ re doing a pretty good job. two way trade in goods and services is running at around $ 50 billion in each direction, and has grown at an annual average rate of about 8 % over the past five years. over the same period the us has accounted for just over half of all inward direct investment into this country and close to a third of all uk outward direct investment. these examples suggest that our commercial relationships are in good shape. economic developments in our two countries have provided a favourable backdrop to british - american commercial relationships. in the us goldilocks continues to tiptoe through the tulips. total output has been growing for seven years - at an average annual rate of around 2¼ %. unemployment has fallen from a peak of 7. 4 % to 4. 7 % ; and consumer price inflation has averaged 3 %. in this country output has been growing for the best part of six years - at an average annual rate of close to 3 %. unemployment on a comparable basis has fallen from a peak of 10. 7 % to below 7 % and underlying consumer price inflation has averaged around 2¾ %. if that ’ s not goldilocks exactly, it is surely her younger sister! and while, in this country particularly, we are having to work harder to keep her from tasting father bear ’ s porridge, there are now signs that the porridge itself may be beginning to cool down - as it needs to do, quite soon and quite quickly, if we are not to see inflation pick up. some us business people - and certainly some british business people - engaged in international trade are understandably discomforted by the recent strength of our respective exchange rates - not vis - a - vis each other because the dollar - sterling rate has been relatively stable, but against the rest of the world. but the domestic environment, here and in the united states, remains - actually and prospectively - relatively benign. we are though both exposed to the chilly winds now blowing from asia. and i should like to devote the rest of my remarks to discussing the problems in asia and considering just how serious a threat they pose