From Toronto Terms to the HIPC Initiative

Download or read book From Toronto Terms to the HIPC Initiative written by Ms.Christina Daseking and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 1999-10-01 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The low-income country debt crisis had its origins in weak macroeconomic policies, and official creditors’ willingness to take risks unacceptable to private lenders. Payments problems were initially addressed through nonconcessional reschedulings and new lending that maximized financing while containing the budgetary costs for creditors. This led to an unsustainable buildup in debt stocks. More recently, debt ratios have improved, reflecting both adjustment and substantial debt relief. The paper estimates debt relief initiatives since 1988 have cost creditors at least $30 billion, and possibly much more. This compares with the estimated costs of about $27 billion under the enhanced HIPC Initiative.