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Brigid Smith published Eric LeCompte's Letter on Debt Relief as US Cause Featured in Financial Times in Press 2025-06-05 22:06:07 -0400
Eric LeCompte's Letter on Debt Relief as US Cause Featured in Financial Times
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was featured in the Financial Times, writing on the US role in relieving unpayable poor country debt. Read the article below or here.
Letter: Relieving poor country debt is flagship US cause
By: Eric LeCompte
"Alan Beattie’s developing country debt diagnosis (“The papal call for debt relief that might not be needed”, Opinion, May 15) misses key parameters of the serious debt crises and distress that too many countries face.
African and low-income countries spend on debt service two-thirds more than their combined spending on health, education and social protection. Similar to Jubilee 2000, at the core of the Jubilee 2025 Catholic and interfaith leaders’ call for debt relief is the moral consideration that the principle of pacta sunt servanda has limits when it comes at the expense of countries’ investments on protecting their people, especially the most vulnerable. This is why the three previous popes focused on debt as one of the greatest threats of our time.
Pope Francis’s call, which will be continued by Pope Leo, hardly moves the goalposts from what was considered a debt crisis at the beginning of the millennium when Pope John Paul II called for debt relief. Forty-six developing countries pay today more than half of their revenue in debt service. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Multilateral Debt Relief initiatives came about — and rather late at that — as a response to debt service levels that were less than half of the levels we face now.
The speculation about the Trump administration’s response seems premature. It was President Trump who in his first term led the way on debt relief for the poorest countries, a G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative and the Common Framework. While not perfect, they were highly inclusive, innovative and pragmatic ways to offer debt forgiveness in a difficult new creditor landscape.
In fact, relieving unpayable poor country debt became and remains a flagship bipartisan cause in the US for sensible reasons. Both Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Republican Congressional leadership highlighted the need to tackle global debt at the recent IMF meetings. Finding predictable and reliable mechanisms to resolve sovereign debt crises is in the interest of not just debtors, but also creditors.
Taxpayers, business, consumers, workers and savers in economies of creditor countries stand to benefit as much as debtor countries. Debt relief advances three priorities that we know our US administration holds dear: making America safer and more prosperous, making foreign assistance transparent and accountable, and securing other countries’ participation in this effort."
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Brigid Smith published Eric LeCompte Featured in Devex Following Pro Briefing on Global Debt Architecture in Press 2025-06-05 14:54:35 -0400
Eric LeCompte Featured in Devex Following Pro Briefing on Global Debt Architecture
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Devex, following his participation in a Devex Pro Briefing on June 3rd, where experts discusssed the international debt system ahead of the Fourth Financing for Development Conference (FfD4).
Read an excerpt below or the full article here with a recording of the full briefing.
Calls for overhaul of global debt architecture intensify ahead of FfD4
By: Jesse Chase-Lubitz
“Very few cases have moved through the Common Framework,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network. “Even though two-thirds of African countries, as well as low-income countries, are spending more on debt than on social services, education, and health combined, they continue to make payments because they don’t feel the framework will actually help them to quickly get out of the crisis.”
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Brigid Smith published Jubilee USA Comments on FinCEN's Interim Final Rule for the Corporate Transparency Act in Press 2025-05-30 11:40:17 -0400
Jubilee USA Comments on FinCEN's Interim Final Rule for the Corporate Transparency Act
Jubilee USA's comment submission on the FinCEN's Interim Final Rule for the Corporate Transparency Act.
Click here to read this submission on the official consultation website or download a pdf here.
May 27, 2025
Director Andrea Gacki
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
U.S. Department of Treasury
P.O. Box 39
Vienna, VA 22183
Re: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement Revision and Deadline Extension (FINCEN–2025–0001, OMB control number 1506–0076 and RIN 1506– AB49)
Jubilee USA Network appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Interim Final Rule regarding Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement Revision and Deadline Extension (the “Interim Final Rule”).
We are an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 750 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners to build an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. We are concerned with how financial secrecy, corruption and tax evasion are connected to economic prosperity and poverty in the United States and abroad. In particular, we have witnessed how anonymous shell companies have facilitated exploitation of vulnerable communities and supported corrupt regimes in the developing world. The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) introduces transparency into otherwise anonymous corporate structures by requiring companies to report their true, “beneficial” owners to a secure directory housed at FinCEN.
We promoted and worked towards passage of this legislation for more than 10 years. During that time we built support with members of Congress, senators and Administrations from both parties. We made this investment because our members consider this legislation essential to 1) curb the theft of debt relief aid, which is essential to reduce food and fuel prices in the US, support American jobs and exports, and make our country safer, 2) stop ways that human traffickers hide and make profits, 3) prevent the exploitation of vulnerable communities in the United States through Medicaid and Medicare fraud, 4) reveal theft from corrupt foreign government officials’ use of development aid and public monies, and 5) help raise revenue in the developing world.
We welcome Secretary Bessent’s recent statements underscoring US support for sovereign debt sustainability, transparency and improved restructuring processes for countries in debt distress, cornerstones of longstanding US bipartisan policy. However, if authorities and well-connected individuals in developing countries can access the vast US financial system to hide their gains from corrupt and non-transparent debt contracts, including with China and other bilateral creditors, the US ability to pursue right-headed debt policy is compromised. We wish to highlight that debt relief and responsible lending are especially relevant in this Jubilee year in which Pope Francis made debt relief and economic aid for the poorest the focus. In this, he followed on the footsteps of Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, in a move that Pope Leo XIV will now continue.
Our members have an interest in seeing strong, effective rules that maximize the Corporate Transparency Act’s potential to contribute to all of the above purposes. We commented in the FinCEN rulemaking processes leading to the rule on Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements and the Beneficial Ownership Information Access and Safeguards, and Use of FinCEN Identifiers for Entities.
The same spirit informs our formulation of responses to the current call for comments.
We respectfully ask that the Treasury Department withdraws the Interim Final Rule.
The Interim Final Rule narrows the scope of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) to apply only to certain foreign companies that register to do business in the United States. It exempts all domestic companies, as well as all beneficial owners of covered foreign companies who are U.S. persons.
We are extremely concerned that, in so doing, the Interim Final Rule significantly undermines the purpose and operations of the CTA to the point of making it almost innocuous.
The opacity provided by anonymous “shell companies” that nefarious actors from all over the world can register in the U.S. enables them to evade and violate laws, facilitates crime, defangs critical US foreign and domestic policies, and endangers national security.
Corrupt foreign officials, transnational cartels, China and North Korea-linked companies, and foreign fraudsters, are among the many examples of foreign persons and entities that registered U.S. shell companies. Relying on the anonymity of such structures, they can take advantage of the U.S. financial system and its tools to achieve their illicit objectives.
This is why Congress, in passing the CTA, underscored its concern with the “ownership of corporations, limited liability companies, or other similar entities in the United States” (bold added) by “malign actors.” According to the statute, “Federal legislation providing for the collection of beneficial ownership information for corporations, limited liability companies, or other similar entities formed under the laws of the States (bold added) is needed to [...] better enable critical national security, intelligence, and law enforcement efforts to counter money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and other illicit activity.”
When the Interim Final Rule opens a sweeping exemption, not envisioned in the law, for all domestic companies and beneficial owners of foreign companies, it reduces the CTA’s scope of application by 99.8%.
While we understand there are some concerns about potential impact of the legislation on legitimate activity, small businesses and law-abiding citizens, these concerns received ample hearing and discussion during the legislation process and led to the creation of 23 well-tailored exemptions that the statute already contemplates.
We believe FinCEN’s rulemaking can find further ways to refine implementation of the law in order to make it more targeted and effective, while avoiding a clash with the CTA’s letter and intent.
Conclusion
Corporate transparency will have a major impact in reducing international corruption and crime in the US and abroad, thereby protecting vulnerable populations and their access to debt relief-freed and other resources for building schools, hospitals, and the infrastructure necessary for development. Additionally, the collection of beneficial ownership information will make it harder for those stealing from the most vulnerable to use the United States financial system as a safe haven to hide their money. Jubilee USA Network looks forward to working with FinCEN during its rulemaking on the Corporate Transparency Act to ensure this mission is achieved. In closing, we thank you again for your consideration of these comments. For any questions or clarifications on our comments please feel free to contact Aldo Caliari at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Aldo Caliari
Senior Director of Policy and Strategy
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Brigid Smith published G20, World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings Close Amidst Economic Uncertainty, Trade Tensions and Rising Debt Crises in Press 2025-05-12 14:30:23 -0400
G20, World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings Close Amidst Economic Uncertainty, Trade Tensions and Rising Debt Crises
Pope Francis Remembered During Meetings
Washington DC – IMF, World Bank, G20 and G7 Spring meetings concluded this past weekend.
The IMF announced an almost one percentage point cut to economic growth for the next two years while warning future forecasts could see more growth cuts.
"These meetings were full of bad news for the economy,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development organization Jubilee USA Network and who monitors the IMF and World Bank. "The analysis from these meetings is the most troubling we've seen in decades.”
While developing countries pay $1.4 trillion annually servicing debt, payments of the poorest countries quadrupled in the last 10 years. According to the IMF, average incomes in the poorest 32 of those countries have barely changed in the last 15 years.
“Trade issues, aid cuts and high interest rates are increasing debt problems and crises,” added LeCompte. “Little was done at the meetings to address severe challenges for the global economy."
In statements delivered during the meetings, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent put to rest fears that the US would disengage from the IMF and World Bank.
"Bessent made many positive contributions to thie meetings,” stated LeCompte. “One of Bessent's most important statements was that the US wants to tackle global debt problems before they become crises."
As the meetings opened last week, on April 21st, Pope Francis passed away. Francis had called for debt relief to be a focus of the holy year of Jubilee 2025.
"Pope Francis was remembered at almost every gathering of world leaders throughout the week,” shared LeCompte. "We can honor the memory of Pope Francis by moving forward his calls for debt relief and creating new processes to address debt crises."
The IMF and World Bank hold their second meeting of the year in October.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the election of Pope Leo XIV here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF, World Bank, G20 and US Treasury Meetings and IMFC and Development Committee Meetings here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on Pope Francis' funeral, legacy and upcoming conclave here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on Pope Francis' views of IMF, World Bank and G20 Spring Meetings here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the G20 ministerial meeting here.
Read Jubilee USA's press release on the IMF Global Financial Stability Report and World Economic Outlook report here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF Global Financial Stability Report here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF World Economic Outlook report here.
Read Jubilee USA's press release on IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva's curtain-raiser speech here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the passing of Pope Francis who had focused this year's Church efforts on debt relief and IMF reform here.
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Brigid Smith published Eric LeCompte Quoted on Pope Leo XIV Election in National Catholic Reporter in Press 2025-05-09 10:14:57 -0400
Eric LeCompte Quoted on Pope Leo XIV Election in National Catholic Reporter
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was quoted in National Catholic Reporter on his reaction to the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8th. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.
'Floored, stunned and full of hope': Reactions to election of Pope Leo XIV
By: Brian Fraga, Brian Roewe and Heidi Schlumpf
"Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network, described Leo XIV as being "a strong voice for the Catholic Church's social mission to address poverty."
"The selection of the name of Leo XIV is a special acknowledgement of the need to support the poor and workers," said LeCompte. He added in a prepared statement that the new pope has "a strong sense of how important the global Church is to address global challenges."
Read more here.
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Brigid Smith published Eric LeCompte Featured in The Globe and Mail Following Election of Pope Leo XIV in Press 2025-05-08 18:43:31 -0400
Eric LeCompte Featured in The Globe and Mail Following Election of Pope Leo XIV
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in The Globe and Mail following the election of Pope Leo XIV. Read the full article here.
Robert Francis Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV, first American to hold papacy in Catholic Church’s history
By: Eric Reguly
Read the full article here.
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Brigid Smith published The Guardian Quotes Eric LeCompte on Election of Pope Leo XIV in Press 2025-05-08 17:49:06 -0400
The Guardian Quotes Eric LeCompte on Election of Pope Leo XIV
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was quoted in The Guardian following the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost and his choice to take the name Leo XIV. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.
Robert Francis Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV as cardinals elect first US pontiff
By: Angela Giuffrida and Harriet Sherwood in Vatican City and Sam Jones
"Eric LeCompte, the executive director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network, who advises Vatican and Catholic church leadership said he expected Leo to “follow the path that Francis set to build a more inclusive and transparent Church”.
“The selection of the name of Leo XIV is a special acknowledgment of the need to support the poor and workers,” LeCompte added.
The new pontiff will have many urgent issues to address. A priority will be to strengthen the church’s unity amid differing views and expectations within the institution and growing polarisation in the wider world.
The pontiff plays an important role on the international stage, aiming to ensure that religion does not become a faultline."Read more here.
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Brigid Smith published Jubilee USA Statement on Election of Pope Leo XIV in Press 2025-05-08 14:32:20 -0400
Jubilee USA Statement on Election of Pope Leo XIV
Washington DC – Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected head of the Catholic Church and takes the name Pope Leo XIV, on Thursday, May 8th.
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network, who advises Vatican and Catholic Church leadership, releases the following statement:
"Cardinal Prevost is a strong voice for the Catholic Church's social mission to address poverty.
"As Prevost takes the name Leo XIV, he will follow the path that Francis set to build a more inclusive and transparent Church.
"The selection of the name of Leo XIV is a special acknowledgement of the need to support the poor and workers.
"Leo XIII, the previous Pope Leo, was the author of the Encyclical Rerum Novarum which became the Church's primary teaching on the rights of workers and those who struggle for a better life and to live in dignity.
"The new Pope has a strong sense of how important the global Church is to address global challenges.
"Coming from the Augustinian religious order, Leo XIV will bring a commitment to building a world where we all have enough.
"Pope Francis followed previous Popes in establishing debt relief to address poverty as a key focus for the Church's Jubilee holy year that's taking place this year. Pope Leo XIV will continue that focus for this holy year."
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Brigid Smith published The KPFA Evening News Features Eric LeCompte During IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Press 2025-04-30 14:18:52 -0400
The KPFA Evening News Features Eric LeCompte During IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was interviewed by KPFA Radio to speak about the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings and release of the IMF World Economic Outlook report and Global Financial Stability Report. Listen here (7:30-11:53).
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Brigid Smith published Reuters Quotes Eric LeCompte in Closing Story on IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings 2025 in Press 2025-04-27 12:14:11 -0400
Reuters Quotes Eric LeCompte in Closing Story on IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings 2025
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was quoted in Reuters, where he spoke on the debt discussions had during the recent IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.
IMF-World Bank meetings end with little tariff clarity, but economic foreboding
By David Lawder, Karin Strohecker and Andrea Shalal
"Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, a faith-based nonprofit group advocating debt relief, said that the IMF's forecasts were clearly aimed at preventing market panic, even as officials in private meetings expressed concerns about new debt crises emerging.
"It was a do-nothing kind of week," LeCompte said, adding that debt discussions were inconclusive and overshadowed by tariff talks."Read more here.
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Brigid Smith published Eric LeCompte Interviewed by Saban Media, The Policy with Leah in Press 2025-04-26 12:05:32 -0400
Eric LeCompte Interviewed by Saban Media, The Policy with Leah
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in The Policy with Leah, with Nigeria's Saban Media during the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings. Listen and watch here (22:00-24:35).
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Brigid Smith published The Times Radio Interviews Eric LeCompte Ahead of Pope Francis' Funeral in Press 2025-04-26 08:31:19 -0400
The Times Radio Interviews Eric LeCompte Ahead of Pope Francis' Funeral
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently interviewed by The Times Radio in London, ahead of Pope Francis' funeral. LeCompte speaks on Pope Francis' leadership, dedication to poverty alleviation and enduring legacy for debt relief during the Jubilee year. Listen here (1:35:32 - 1:42:50).
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Brigid Smith published Jubilee USA Statement on Pope Francis' views of IMF, World Bank and G20 Spring Meetings in Press 2025-04-25 19:18:41 -0400
Jubilee USA Statement on Pope Francis' views of IMF, World Bank and G20 Spring Meetings
Washington DC – Saturday marks the end of the Spring Meetings, where world leaders gathered as part of the IMF, World Bank and G20 meetings. Pope Francis was remembered at this week's meetings as he commented continually on global economic policies.
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network who advises Vatican and Catholic Church leadership and monitors IMF and G20 meetings, releases the following statement:
"Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the greatest world leaders of our time.
"As we remember Francis, we know that he devoted his papacy to creating an economy that includes all of us and protects our planet.
"Francis was critical of IMF policies and called for major reforms of the financial system that would serve the poor, address inequality and protect the environment.
"Pope Francis dedicated this sacred year of the Church, Jubilee 2025, to debt relief and reforms of the IMF and the global economy.
"Reforming the IMF is part of key Catholic teaching that was also lifted by Popes John Paul II and Benedict.
"At the G20, IMF and World Bank meetings, the Pope's memory was celebrated at almost every gathering.
"The most important way to honor Pope Francis is for world leaders to implement his calls for debt relief and new processes that address poverty and debt in the financial system."
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the G20 ministerial meeting here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF Global Financial Stability Report here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF World Economic Outlook report here.
Read Jubilee USA's press release on IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva's curtain-raiser speech here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the passing of Pope Francis who had focused this year's Church efforts on debt relief and IMF reform here.
Read the letter to President Trump from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Jubilee USA Network on following Pope Francis' Jubilee 2025 focus here.
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Brigid Smith published Eric LeCompte Featured in America Magazine Speaking on the Global Impact of Pope Francis in Press 2025-04-25 09:36:11 -0400
Eric LeCompte Featured in America Magazine Speaking on the Global Impact of Pope Francis
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in America Magazine where he spoke on Pope Francis' legacy and commitment to tackling debt and financial inequalities through debt relief. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.
The global impact of Pope Francis: From migration to taxes to A.I. weapons
By: Kevin Clarke
"Eric LeCompte is the executive director of Jubilee USA Network, a global debt relief advocacy group. The pope’s predecessors, St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, he said, shared many of his views “regarding inequality, tax and debt and how those issues impact the poor.” But Pope Francis was able to shine a light on these issues as few world leaders have been able to, he said.
What distinguished Francis was his poignant, personal experience with the issues of poverty and debt justice. As a younger man, Francis witnessed the powerful effects of financial and debt crises on the most vulnerable in Argentina during his years as a Jesuit priest and later as archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Pope Francis, Mr. LeCompte said, “saw directly how the impacts of unfair financial policies make poverty worse and create more difficult global challenges.”
Pope Francis unabashedly talked about the injustice of tax evasion, tax fraud and tax avoidance, acts which in the end mean that in a world of wealth and abundance, “we don’t have the resources to deal with poverty.”
Mr. LeCompte recalled that the first set of credentials for new ambassadors Francis accepted as his pontificate began included those from three nations that have acted as tax havens for the wealthy. The pope did not miss the opportunity to lift up the moral component of such avoidance structures and the practical social and humanitarian problems they contribute to, pointing out that hiding wealth from taxation “takes investment directly away from the poor.”
The pope’s emphasis on accepting tax obligations and tax equity “really goes back to very early church teaching,” Mr. LeCompte said, “these ideas that if we take more than what is enough, we’ve taken it from people who don’t have enough.” The pope frequently spoke about distributive economics, “which is part of what tax is.”
Among the pope’s final acts was the declaration of 2025 as a Jubilee Year that would include a focus on addressing the immiserating debt burden of poor nations as a new global debt crisis looms. Pope Francis flipped the script in talking about how to address climate change and poverty and how to finance economic development, according to Mr. LeCompte.
The pope consistently pointed out, he said, that in historical terms the earth’s riches have been extracted from the world’s vulnerable peoples and delivered to the affluent West, while powerless states imported poverty, ecological ruin and debt. Addressing those historic inequities through a practical, persisting debt jubilee process, the pope insisted, would be a measure of justice, not an act of charity.
“I like to tell people the most important speech that Pope Francis ever gave is the speech that no one understood, and that was his 2015 speech to the United Nations,” Mr. LeCompte remembers. “If you look at the press coverage, people say [of the speech]: ‘Oh, he talked about climate change.’ ‘No, he talked about war.’ ‘No, he talked about human rights.’”
But Pope Francis talked about those issues, Mr. LeCompte said, as part of an interconnected complex that can be traced back to global economic inequities, part of the reason he has “so forcefully made this Jubilee Year a focus on debt relief.”
The pope, he said, endorsed “permanent and continuous processes to deal with the challenges of debt and financial inequities,” arguing that “only if we deal with those things are we going to have the tools and resources to deal with poverty, to deal with climate change, to deal with human rights, to deal with the scourge of war.”
Read more here.
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Brigid Smith published Jubilee USA Statement on G20 Finance Ministers Meeting During the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Press 2025-04-24 13:48:27 -0400
Jubilee USA Statement on G20 Finance Ministers Meeting During the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings
Washington DC – On Thursday, G20 finance ministers met on global economic growth, uncertain economic conditions, debt and expanding development bank aid. No communique was issued from the G20.
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network and a United Nations finance expert who monitors G20 meetings, releases the following statement on the G20 finance ministers meeting during the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings:
“The G20 faces its greatest test since the pandemic, with challenges for economic growth, an uncertain economy, rising debt problems and threats of inflation.
“More than half of the poorest countries need immediate solutions for debt relief.
“We urgently need to improve the tools that can allow developing countries to deal with debt problems and crises.
“Expanding the lending capacity of multilateral development banks is important as less aid goes to developing countries.
“We will need to go beyond the additional $35 billion annual increase of development bank aid and loans that was announced last year.”
Read Jubilee USA's press release on the IMF Spring Meetings here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF Global Financial Stability Report here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF World Economic Outlook report here.
Read Jubilee USA's press release on IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva's curtain-raiser speech here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the passing of Pope Francis who had focused this year's Church efforts on debt relief and IMF reform here.
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Brigid Smith published Eric LeCompte Featured in Devex Speaking on Debt Restructuring and Tariffs During the Spring Meetings in Press 2025-04-24 08:44:29 -0400
Eric LeCompte Featured in Devex Speaking on Debt Restructuring and Tariffs During the Spring Meetings
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Devex. In the article, LeCompte discusses the release of a playbook on debt restructuring proposed by world leaders at the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings. He discusses the statements made by Kristalina Georgieva and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as well as the need to deal with the debt crisis and tariffs. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.
US tariffs threaten to push debt-distressed nations closer to the brink
By: Jesse Chase-Lubitz
"The playbook guides countries on how to assess debt sustainability, whom to hire on legal and financial issues, and how to engage early with creditors.
"Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, said that the playbook “puts more information at the hands of countries trying to get out of the debt crisis.” However, the playbook is “limited” and “doesn’t offer the creative thinking that we need to get to economic stability,” he added.
In the meantime, the IMF has said that cuts in development aid, trade tensions, and possible rising inflation in some countries will push more countries into deeper debt crises.
“Both the IMF’s head, Kristalina Georgieva, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made helpful statements about the real need to deal with debt challenges in a more preemptive way and before we reach a crisis,” said LeCompte, referring to remarks from Bessent on Wednesday about the need to “minimize periods of debt distress.”
However, LeCompte added that while the statements are “really helpful, we are seeing little action to actually resolve the greater debt crises that will now unfold.”"
Read more here.
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Brigid Smith published Reuters Speaks with Eric LeCompte on Push for World Bank to Reduce Equity-to-Lending Ratio in Press 2025-04-23 08:22:24 -0400
Reuters Speaks with Eric LeCompte on Push for World Bank to Reduce Equity-to-Lending Ratio
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently quoted in Reuters, speaking on the push to reduce the World Bank's equity-to-loan ratio amidst recent cuts to development aid in the U.S. and Europe. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.
World Bank urged to reduce equity-to-loan ratio to free up funds for poor countries
By: Andrea Shalal
"Jubilee USA Network, a religious development group, said it backs the push, and it urged the World Bank to act quickly.
"The World Bank can and should make this decision as soon as possible," said Eric LeCompte, the group's executive director and a United Nations adviser. "With the significant cuts we've seen from the U.S. and Europe on development aid, this action by the World Bank can fill this aid gap.""
Read more here.
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Brigid Smith published Eric LeCompte Featured in Newsweek Regarding Pope Francis' Passing and the Jubilee Year in Press 2025-04-22 14:30:44 -0400
Eric LeCompte Featured in Newsweek Regarding Pope Francis' Passing and the Jubilee Year
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Newsweek, regarding Pope Francis' lasting perspective on global debt relief and the Jubilee Year. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.
Pope Francis Death Update: Seals Placed on Pope's Residence
By: Brendan Cole
"In a statement to Newsweek, Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, which advises Vatican and Catholic Church leadership, said that Francis had appointed most of the current cardinals who will elect the next pope and so the direction he set for a more transparent and inclusive church, will continue.
As the former Catholic leader of his home country Argentina, where he saw firsthand the impacts of poverty on people, Pope Francis spoke differently than past popes on debt and the financial crisis because of his experience, LeCompte said.
"The focus that Pope Francis had announced for global debt relief and new processes to aid the poor for this Jubilee Year would continue as the central themes," LeCompte added. "The next Pope will likely share the same vision as Francis for our world and for the Church."Read more here.
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Brigid Smith published Eric LeCompte Speaks on Pope Francis' Legacy and Debt Relief in Devex in Press 2025-04-22 14:18:40 -0400
Eric LeCompte Speaks on Pope Francis' Legacy and Debt Relief in Devex
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently quoted in Devex Newswire, speaking on Pope Francis' involvement in the issues of debt and financial crises, as well as his enduring legacy during the Jubilee year. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.
Devex Newswire: Jobs, nukes, and jitters at the World Bank Spring Meetings
By: Helen Murphy
"Pope Francis has died, but the priorities he championed live on.
“As the former Catholic leader of his home country Argentina, he spoke differently than past Popes on the issues of debt and financial crisis because of his experience. In Argentina, he saw first hand the impacts of poverty and debt crisis on his people," said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, in a statement.
Earlier this year, Pope Francis made global debt relief and new processes to aid the poor the focus of the Jubilee year — a mission that “will continue as the central themes despite his death,” LeCompte said."
Read more here.