The G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative : What of Commercial Creditors?

The Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) for Poorest Countries provides for a time-bound suspension of debt repayments to public creditors. Commercial creditors, however, are not so bound. Earlier this year there was an initiative to introduce a moratorium on debt service on sovereign bond contracts governed by English law entered into by highly indebted states, which was considered as part of the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Bill 2020 (CIGB). The draft legislation, aimed at freeing up resources for those countries to support health, humanitarian and social and economic measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, was blocked at the last minute. Whilst the proposal did not fit with the UK-focused aims of CIGB 2020, the issues remain and are discussed in this article