This paper-consisting of a regional study and seven country studies-reviews the state of domestic public debt markets in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama as at end-2005. Although they account for the lion's share of capital markets, regional...

This paper estimates bond-by-bond "haircuts"-realized investor losses-in recent debt restructurings in Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan, Ecuador, Argentina, and Uruguay. We consider both external and domestic retructurings. Haircuts are computed as the percentage difference between the present values...

The unprecedented rise in nonperforming assets during the recent Asian financial crisis severely tested the limit and capacity of the existing asset management infrastructure, leading policymakers to consider new approaches to resolve them. This paper examines two such approaches—the creation...

This paper analyzes the Corporation of Foreign Bondholders (CFB), an association of British investors holding bonds issued by foreign governments. The CFB played a key role during the heyday of international bond finance, 1870-1913, and in the aftermath of the defaults of the 1930s. It fostered...

The main challenges for this review were to further redress long-running problems in the energy sector and to balance fiscal policy requirements for development spending with macroeconomic stability. The financial position of the state-owned electricity company (KESH) deteriorated significantly...

This paper presents key findings of the Second and Third Reviews for Gabon under the Stand-By Arrangement. Performance under the program has been mixed. Non-oil economic growth was robust prior to the onset of the international financial crisis, spurred by high oil and commodity prices. However,...