November 20, 2020
Washington DC – As G20 presidents and prime ministers convene, the IMF warns some countries are left out of the G20's new debt reduction process. Last Friday, the United States Treasury stated support for extending debt relief beyond the initial 73 poor countries which qualify for the G20 debt reduction process.
"The United States realizes that more countries will need debt relief to get beyond the coronavirus economic crisis," stated Eric LeCompte, the executive director of the religious development group, Jubilee USA. LeCompte worked with successive US Administrations and Republican and Democratic Members of Congress on their debt relief policies for more than a decade. "While we've seen a lot of progress over the last months, the G20 will need to go beyond existing debt relief initiatives."
This weekend, the G20 is expected to formally approve the “Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative.”
Middle-income countries like Argentina and Ecuador recently finished debt restructurings. Lebanon and Suriname are confronting debt crises. Absolute Strategy, a London research firm, notes 40% of JP Morgan's emerging market debt is at risk of default in the next year.
“As more countries face crisis, we need solutions that can help stabilize the global economy,” said LeCompte.
Read More
November 20, 2020
Devex quotes Eric LeCompte on this week's global development in FCDO, foreign nationals policy, the G20 debt relief package and the impact of Hurricane Iota. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
FCDO's foreign nationals policy, G-20 debt framework, and Iota's compounding impact: This week in development
The U.K.’s diplomacy and development office restricts employment for foreign nationals, G-20 representatives forge a debt relief framework, and Hurricane Iota makes a bad situation worse.
“There is no doubt this is incredible progress,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director at Jubilee USA Network. “This process is a step forward that includes more actors and will expedite relief and reduction.”
Read more here.
Read More
November 17, 2020
The Wall Street Journal quotes Eric LeCompte on a new debt framework in efforts to ensure China's participation in a debt restructuring that could resolve Zambia's default. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
Africa’s First Pandemic Default Tests New Effort to Ease Debt From China
A new framework to resolve debt crises in developing countries, meant to ensure that Chinese and private creditors share the burden of providing relief, faces a key test after Zambia became the first African nation to default during the coronavirus pandemic.
Finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies said Nov. 13 that they had come up with a new process for restructuring the debts of the world’s poorest countries, which now owe billions of dollars to Chinese state-owned lenders and Western fund managers that snapped up their dollar-denominated bonds in the years before the pandemic.
Under this common framework, which G-20 officials lauded as a breakthrough after months of resistance from Beijing, Chinese lenders will participate in debt restructurings alongside rich, mostly Western nations. Private creditors will also be asked to provide relief on similar terms.
“The framework was designed for the problems Zambia is now facing,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, a nongovernmental organization that lobbies for poor-country debt relief.
Read more here.
Read More
November 16, 2020
Eric LeCompte is quoted in Devex on the G20's debt relief framework. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
G20 Releases Debt Framework Details
WASHINGTON — The G-20 group of leading economies agreed to a debt framework to help countries pursue debt restructuring or forgiveness, building off of its Debt Service Suspension Initiative and recognizing that some nations may need additional relief, according to a communique released after an extraordinary meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors Friday.
“There is no doubt this is incredible progress,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network. “This process is a step forward that includes more actors and will expedite relief and reduction.”
Another concern is that the framework only applies to DSSI countries, leaving out middle-income countries, which in some cases are also facing significant debt burdens, LeCompte said, adding that he hopes the agreement could potentially be expanded to a broader group of countries down the road.
When the G20 Leaders’ Summit takes place this month, the debt framework is likely to be part of a broader communique and will likely be highlighted by leaders, LeCompte said.
Read more here.
Read More
November 13, 2020
The Financial Times features Eric LeCompte on the G20's debt relief plan to help poor countries battle the economic effects of Covid-19. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
World’s poorest countries get fresh debt relief hope from creditor nations
The world’s poorest countries have been offered fresh help to restructure their debts as leading economies and creditor nations agreed new principles for debt relief to help them fight the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Unfortunately developing middle-income countries are excluded from this process as they face some of the highest poverty increases because of the coronavirus crisis,” said Eric LeCompte, director of Jubilee USA, which campaigns on poverty and debt.
Read more
here.
Read More
November 13, 2020
Eric LeCompte is quoted in Reuters as the G20 releases historic debt relief plan for poorer nations combatting Covid-19. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
G20 strikes historic debt pact to help poorer states hit by COVID
PARIS/TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - G20 countries have agreed for the first time on a common framework for restructuring government debt, in anticipation of the coronavirus crisis leaving some poorer nations struggling to pay and in need of relief.
Eric LeCompte, a United Nations adviser on debt and executive director of Jubilee USA Network, said inclusion of private sector creditors was a significant step, but criticised the G20 for failing to include middle-income countries.
“Unfortunately, middle-income countries that will see some of the highest poverty increases due to the crisis, are excluded from this process, LeCompte said.
Read more here.
Read More
November 13, 2020
Washington DC – G20 finance ministers held an extraordinary meeting and announced further plans on debt reduction for developing countries affected by the COVID-19 economic crisis.
“The G20 created a process that includes all creditors, including the private sector, in debt relief plans for the poorest countries,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development organization Jubilee USA and a United Nations finance expert. “Unfortunately, developing middle-income countries are excluded from this process as they face some of the highest poverty increases because of the coronavirus crisis."
The “Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative," focuses on 73 of the world's poorest countries. Next week, G20 heads of state gather for their annual summit. In December, Italy takes over the G20 Presidency.
Read the G20 Communiqué here.
Read More
November 12, 2020
Ahead of G20 Meeting, World Leaders and Development Banks Meet on Coronavirus Response
Washington DC – On Friday, the G20 convenes an extraordinary meeting on debt reduction for developing countries affected by the COVID-19 economic crisis.
“The G20 recognizes that many vulnerable countries won't move beyond this crisis without significant debt relief,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network. “While a new debt relief process is positive, we remain concerned that a number of developing countries who need relief, are not able to qualify for this process.”
In October the G20 agreed, in principle, to create a “Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond Debt Service Suspension Initiative." The initial G20 debt suspension initiative allows the 73 poorest countries to stop paying debts through mid-2021. 46 countries freed up $5 billion because of the program passed by the G20 in April.
Ahead of Friday's G20 finance minister meeting, on November 12th, chiefs of 450 public banks, heads of state and other world leaders met on their collective response to the coronavirus crisis and recovery. The “Finance in Common” Summit is backed by Emmanuel Macron, President of France and the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterrez.
The gathering offered a platform for the banks, with combined assets of $11 trillion, to explore cooperation and common approaches on development, climate issues and coronavirus response.
"A central recommendation the summit encouraged is that development banks need to increase their support of countries to confront the coronavirus crisis," said LeCompte. "For development banks to expand their role in the scale required, publicly-funded banks will need more resources, innovative tools and greater coordination."
The Presidents and Prime Ministers of the G20 meet for their summit on November 21st through 22nd. On December 1st, Italy takes over the G20 Presidency.
Read More
November 12, 2020
Eric LeCompte is quoted in Bloomberg as the G20 seeks to garner more support from China in coordinating on debt relief efforts. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
G-20 Looks to Deepen Debt Relief Drive With China’s Coordination
The effort aims to standardize the way official and commercial creditors rework sovereign debts, seeking similar rules for China and the Paris Club, a grouping of mostly western government creditors. Beijing has also clashed with private bondholders in recent restructurings.
“Attention has been on getting an agreement that China can get behind,” said Eric LeCompte, the executive director of Jubilee USA Network, a non-profit group that advocates for debt relief for smaller economies. “This has been a process to include China.”
Read more here.
Read More
November 12, 2020
Eric LeCompte is quoted in US News and hundreds of outlets as the IMF seeks new relationship with the US in the wake of an apparent transition into a Biden Administration. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
IMF Eyes New Relationship With Biggest Shareholder After Biden Win
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The election of Joe Biden as U.S. president gives the International Monetary Fund a chance to reset its relationship with the United States, its largest shareholder, and make green initiatives a bigger part of its global economic recovery plan.
Eric LeCompte, executive director of the Jubilee USA Network, said the IMF was anxious to put more emphasis on issues such as climate change, the SDRs and more comprehensive debt-restructuring mechanism with the help of a new U.S. leader.
"Even though we've seen a lot of progress and issues over the past six months, we haven't acted quickly enough to confront the coronavirus crisis," LeCompte said.
Read more here.
Read More
October 26, 2020
Eric LeCompte is quoted in the National Catholic Reporter as Pope Francis names 13 new cardinals. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
Francis Names 13 New Cardinals, Including Washington's Archbishop Gregory
ROME — Pope Francis named 13 new Catholic cardinals Oct. 25, including two Vatican officials; archbishops in Rwanda, the Philippines and Chile; and Washington, D.C. Archbishop Wilton Gregory.
Eric LeCompte, who through his work as the executive director of the Jubilee USA Network came to know Tomasi as they both focused on debt, tax and trade issues at the U.N., praised Francis' choice to name the diplomat and Gregory as cardinals at the same time.
"When we look at appointments and see names like Gregory and Tomasi, we see the Pope's strong commitments to bridge building and promoting the Church's mission to ensure that everyone has enough and can live in dignity," said LeCompte, who is based in Washington.
Read more here.
Read More
October 22, 2020
Devex featured Eric LeCompte's comments on the recent World Bank Annual Meetings and their push for debt relief. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
As World Bank pushes others on debt relief, it doesn't participate
WASHINGTON — While the World Bank has been vocal about pushing bilateral and private creditors to take stronger action to provide debt relief, it maintains that it shouldn’t be part of existing debt suspension initiatives.
Even if the World Bank is not participating in debt service suspension, as conversations move ahead about broader debt restructuring or forgiveness, multilateral development banks including the World Bank “need to be part of a debt reduction process like the private sector does,” Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, told Devex.
Read more here.
Read More