Evaluating Transparency in Public Debt Management and Good Relations with Investors

Posted by Mario Pessoa

The Institute of International Finance (IIF), an association of financial institutions, published for the third time the report Investor Relations: An Approach to Effective Communication and Enhanced Transparency. This report provides detailed analysis of investor relations and data transparency practices by the most active emerging market borrowing countries. According to the IIF, by reporting advances in sovereign investor relations practices, the document aims to help authorities identify those aspects of their investor relations and data transparency practices that could benefit from strengthening.

While the focus of the report is on financial market issues and not on public financial management, it should be of high importance to public debt managers. It sets a benchmark for good practices in terms of level of transparency, and availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of debt information. In this respect, the report’s very detailed indicators give to the user a broad view of the information available and can be seen as a demonstration of countries’ commitment to transparency in debt management. On the downside, the report focuses only on the availability of information and does not discuss the quality of the information provided by the countries.

Public Debt Management in Brazil

The Brazilian National Treasury Publishes an Overview of Development and Practice

Posted by Otavio Medeiros[1]

The Brazilian National Treasury, in partnership with the World Bank, launched on August 17th, the book: Public Debt: The Brazilian Experience. The publication aims to facilitate and foster a broader understanding of the topic, presented by professionals with first-hand experience in debt management, mainly staff from Brazil’s National Treasury, authors from the World Bank, other Brazilian federal government institutions and the academic world. The publication also provides a comprehensive discussion of the Brazilian public debt portfolio, describing and analyzing it from various perspectives, including its history since the earliest issuance.

Debt Brake for Germany--Could it be too Strict?

Posted by Christian Schiller

When the Federalism Reform Commission II presented its report to the general public on June 23, 2008, it was clear that a debt brake for the federal government and the governments of the Länder (the federal states) would come, but how tight remained open (see my posting Germany: Fiscal Reform Commission II presents report of June 30, 2008). Now, on February 12, 2009, the federal government and the governments of the Länder have agreed on the specifics. It is expected that the new debt brake will be incorporated into Germany’s basic law in June 2009 and become effective on January 2011.

Agreement has been reached on a zero limit on net borrowing for the Länder and a limit of 0,35 percent of GDP for the federal government budget deficit. These are the general rules. But there will a transition period and there will be exceptions.

FAD Professional Development Seminar on Debt Management

Posted by Sailendra Pattanayak

 The IMF Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) conducted a Professional Development Seminar on Debt Management on December 10, 2008. The focus of the seminar was on recent trends in debt management practices and what debt managers could do to help alleviate the impact of the current financial crisis. The role of debt management in overall fiscal sustainability was discussed, and coordination of debt management strategy with fiscal and monetary policies was emphasized. The seminar consisted of three separate theme-based sessions, with presentations by staff from FAD as well as from the Monetary and Capital Markets (MCM) Department of the IMF.