THE PARIS CLUB GLOSSARY
(continued)
Restructuring
Synonym for rescheduling.
Special Account
Establishment of an account by the debtor with the Central Bank of one
of the creditor countries. Under the terms of an Agreed Minute, the
debtor commits itself to deposit monthly payments. The total amounts
deposited during the consolidation period correspond to total debt service
obligations due under bilateral agreements concluded in implementing
a Paris-Club Agreed Minute. while the amounts paid into the Special
Account remain part of the debtor's foreign exchange reserves, he is
committed not to use them for any purpose other than for making payments
to creditors until all the obligations falling due during the consolidation
period have been made; creditors insist on the establishment of a Special
Account in cases where a debtor's track record in terms of meeting payment
obligations and implementing arrangements with the IMF has been less
than satisfactory.
Standard Terms
Rescheduling terms applicable to middle-income countries; standard terms
are non-consolidated, i.e. they do not reduce the net-present value
of the amounts rescheduled; the repayment period does not exceed 10
years with the grace period ranging from four to six years.
Stock of Debt
Total debt disbursed and outstanding; under Paris-Club terms, only debt
servicing obligations falling due within a given consolidation period
are rescheduled; the Agreed Minutes concluded with Poland and Egypt
in 1991 exceptionally provided for the reduction and rescheduling of
these countries' outstanding stock of debt; Trinidad-Terms available
to low-income countries tie a stock-of-debt treatment to a three-year
waiting period during which the debtor needs to establish a positive
track record with respect to implementing rescheduling agreements and
arrangements concluded with the IMF
Toronto Terms
Toronto-Terms were introduced in the fall of 1988 following a recommendation
adopted by the Toronto-summit; creditors agreed to reduce the net-present-value
of the debts rescheduled by 33 percent; creditors had the choice between
the options debt and debt service reduction; due to internal legal and
budgetary constraints, the United States were unable to join the consensus
and hence permitted to reschedule the debt of Toronto-debtors over a
long period (25 years with a grace period of 14 years); this called
long-term option does not contain an element of concessionality Only
countries classified by the World Bank as IDA-only countries qualified
as Toronto-countries Toronto-Terms have been superseded in December
of 1991 by the Enhanced Toronto-Terms or Trinidad-Terms (see "Trinidad-Terms")
Trinidad Terms
Trinidad-Terms or Enhanced Toronto-Terms superseded the Toronto-Terms
by increasing the level of concessionality from 33 percent to 50 percent.
The repayment period for the remaining debts were lengthened from 15
(Toronto-Terms) to 23 years with the grace period depending upon the
option chosen: six years of grace under the debt reduction, no grace
period under the debt service reduction option; at the request of the
United States, the so-called long-term option (see "Toronto-Terms")
was retained with the grace period lengthened from 14 to 16 years Considering
the grant element inherent in ODA-loans, ODA-debt-servicing obligations
are rescheduled over 30 years with 20 years of grace. In addition, creditors
agree to consider the matter of the debtor's stock of debt if, after
three years following the signing of the Agreed Minute, the debtor has
met all payments and successfully implemented the economic programmes
supported by the IMF. Like Toronto-Terms, Trinidad-Terms applicable
to low-income countries only.