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Domestic And External Debt: The Doomed Quest For Equal Treatment, Anna Gelpern, Brad Setser
Domestic And External Debt: The Doomed Quest For Equal Treatment, Anna Gelpern, Brad Setser
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Until recently, governments borrowed from domestic residents and foreign investors using very different instruments. Residents bought "domestic debt" - paper denominated in local currency and governed by domestic law. Foreign investors preferred "external debt", which offered foreign currency and foreign law. Because there was virtually no overlap between resident and nonresident holdings, it mattered little that lawyers and economists defined domestic and external debt differently: lawyers focused on features such as governing law and jurisdiction, economists on the holder's residence and currency of denomination. The legal and economic definitions of domestic and external debt were effectively bundled: "domestic debt" meant …
Pari Passu And A Distressed Sovereign's Rational Choices, William W. Bratton
Pari Passu And A Distressed Sovereign's Rational Choices, William W. Bratton
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Part I describes the disruptive role the pari passu clause plays in sovereign debt compositions, stating the case favoring the narrow reading. Part II reconsiders the economic incentives in play at the time lenders close loans to sovereigns, stating a case for the broad reading. Part III works the competing readings through the legal framework of bond contract interpretation. The exercise shows that the matter comes down to a choice between an ex ante reading, conducted as of the time the contract is executed and delivered, and an ex post reading, conducted as of the later time of distress. The …