IMF Seminar: Debt Restructuring: Why Too Little and Too Late

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IMF SEMINAR EVENT

DATE: October 11, 2022

DAY: Tuesday

2:00 PM - 2:45 PM

LOCATION: IMF HQ1 Atrium (HQ1-1-700)

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Overview

Government debt levels are climbing in emerging and developing economies. With rising interest rates, the strengthening of the US dollar, and weaker global growth, the risks of a systemic sovereign debt crisis are rising. The discussion draws on options for improving the functioning of debt restructuring mechanisms from a private sector perspective (a separate seminar looks at policy options and the G20 Common Framework).

Join the conversation via #DebtRestructuring

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IMF Seminar: Debt Restructuring: Why Too Little and Too Late

Panelists

Moderator: Martin Wolf

Martin Wolf is Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times, London. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 2000 for services to financial journalism. Mr Wolf won the Overseas Press Club of America’s prize for “best commentary on international news in any medium” for 2013 and the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Gerald Loeb Awards. He was a member of the UK’s Independent Commission on Banking in 2010-11 His most recent publication is The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism (London and New York: Allen Lane, 2023).

Panelist: Gita Gopinath

Gita Gopinath is the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She oversees the work of staff, represents the Fund at multilateral forums, leads the Fund’s work on surveillance and related policies, and oversees research and flagship publications. Previously, Ms. Gopinath was the Fund's Chief Economist. In that role, she helmed thirteen releases of the World Economic Outlook. She also worked with other Fund departments on a new analytical approach to help countries respond to international capital flows via the Integrated Policy Framework. Prior to joining the IMF, Ms. Gopinath was the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Economics at Harvard University and before that she was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Her research, which focuses on International Finance and Macroeconomics, is widely cited and has been published in many top economics journals. She has authored numerous articles on exchange rates, trade and investment, international financial crises, monetary policy, debt, and emerging market crises.

Full bio

Panelist: Lee Buchheit

Lee C. Buchheit is Honorary Professor at Edinburgh Law School at the University of Edinburgh. Previously he was adjunct Professor, Juris Doctor degree Program at the University of Miami. Buchheit is the author of two books in the field of international law and more than 40 articles on professional matters. He served as a Visiting Professor at Chuo University in Japan (1997-98), as a Lecturer on Law at the Harvard Law School (2000), as a Visiting Lecturer in Law at the Yale Law School (2005), as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Duke University Law School (2006-07), and as an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University Law School (2008). Buchheit is a Visiting Professorial Fellow in the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at the University of London.

Panelist: Elena Duggar

Chair of Moody’s Macroeconomic Board and managing director of Credit Strategy & Research

Panelist: Ana Gelpern

Anna Gelpern is a law professor at Georgetown and a non-resident fellow at the Peterson Institute. She has published research on government debt, contracts, and regulation of financial institutions and markets. She has co-authored a law textbook on International Finance, and has contributed to international initiatives on financial reform and government debt. She co-directs the Sovereign Debt Forum, a collaboration among Georgetown Law’s Institute of International Economic Law and academic institutions in the United States and Europe, dedicated to cutting edge research and capacity building in sovereign debt management.

Panelist: Axel Weber

Axel A. Weber is European Chairman of the Trilateral Commission and President of the Center for Financial Studies at Goethe University Frankfurt/Main. He is also Chairman of the Institute of International Finance and a member of the Group of Thirty. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of UBS Group AG (2012-2022) . He served as President of the German Bundesbank (2004-2011), during which time he also served as a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, German governor of the International Monetary Fund and as a member of the G7 and G20 Ministers and Governors. He was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Professor of Economics at the University of Cologne, Goethe University of Frankfurt and University of Bonn. He also served as a member of the German Council of Economic Experts.