Summing Up by the Chairman—Management of the Debt Situation, Executive Board Meeting 91/48, April 3, 1991

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Turning to the modalities of Fund support for debt operations, Directors saw no need for substantial modifications to the guidelines which, implemented in close collaboration with the World Bank, continue to provide the required versatility. They noted, however, the need to strengthen existing safeguards to ensure that linkages to Fund arrangements in commercial bank agreements do not adversely affect the interests of member countries or the Fund. In this regard, they observed that “ condition precedent” clauses, linking bank disbursements to purchases from the Fund, should be discouraged where feasible and accepted only when necessary to obtain satisfactory bank financing agreements in concerted financing cases. In addition, they stressed that “mandatory prepayment” clauses in future bank agreements should be structured so as clearly to avoid linking bank prepayments to early repurchases made pursuant to expectations or obligations established by the Fund. Directors emphasized that these safeguards should be taken into account by member countries as early as possible in their negotiations with bank creditors. In that connection, a number of Directors observed that debtors and creditors should be aware of what the Fund can accept and, in the same vein, that members should inform the staff at an early stage, and well ahead of agreement with bank creditors, about envisaged linkages to Fund arrangements in bank packages.

BUFF/91/65

April 5, 1991