Publication of the 2014 annual report of the Paris Club

The 2014 annual report of the Paris Club is now available on the Paris Club website.

2014 has been an exceptional year in terms of outreach policy activities as Israel became its 20th member and with Brazil, South Africa and People’s Bank of China now regularly joining the monthly Tour d’Horizon. The Paris Club considers it an overarching priority to foster and animate a dynamic and inclusive dialogue among sovereigns, both developed and emerging and to gather the most representative array of creditors during its discussions and negotiations. The second edition of the Paris Forum which gathered more than 30 countries in November 2014, was another important landmark in this respect. Participants from inside and outside the Club stressed the benefits of creditor coordination, including information exchanges pertaining to the recovery of claims or the negotiation of adequate restructuring terms with debtors.

2014 was also an historical year due to the agreement reached between the Argentine Republic and the Paris Club. This agreement to clear all existing debt in arrears toward the Paris Club over a five year period in a flexible manner was a major step in the normalization of financial relations between Argentina and its creditors.

The 2014 Annual Report also highlights the benefits of past debt treatments on the economic and social development of debtor countries, featuring the examples of Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Togo. The fiscal space provided by Paris Club treatments allow governments to make needed economic reforms and investments, access new financing to grow their economies, and meet their repayment obligations over the long term.

Paris Club creditors continue to be at the center of the international community’s discussions on the prevention and resolution of sovereign debt crisis. In 2014, Paris Club member countries actively contributed to shaping discussions on how to strengthen the Contractual framework to address collective action, as described by the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) and the IMF in this report.

In 2015, the Club continued to build on these successes and has already concluded a landmark arrangement with Seychelles for an early repayment scheme covering debts rescheduled by the Paris Club in 2009, which will support marine conservation efforts.

Background note

1. The Paris Club was formed in 1956. It is an informal group of creditor governments. It meets in Paris to coordinate policies, share information, and in some cases to meet with debtor countries to agree on restructuring their debts.

2. The members of the Paris Club are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

3. The publication of an annual report, since 2008, is an example of Paris Club creditors’ commitment to enhance the transparency of the Club’s work and functioning.

4. The 2014 Paris Club annual report comprises four main chapters:

-- The outreach activity of the Paris Club,

-- Paris Club debt treatments during the year,

-- The impact of Paris Club debt treatments on the situation of developing countries,

-- General issues discussed by members in the framework of the Paris Club. In addition to these four main chapters, the annual report includes detailed annexes on the current claims, function, and the principles of the Paris Club.