Deadline for domestic debt exchange extended

With a planned settlement date of January 6, 2023, the Ministry of Finance has announced an extension of the domestic debt exchange deadline from December 19 to December 30.

The Ministry claims that the extension comes as a result of comments from the financial industry regarding the requirement to get internal and Executive Board clearances, which are required considerations for their participation in the exchange.

In order to modify certain measures to be acceptable within the parameters of the Debt Sustainability Analysis, it was added that “the extension also provides the Government of Ghana the opportunity to consider comments offered by all stakeholders.”

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The extension comes in response to criticism of the debt exchange program’s structure from participants in the financial sector.

Critics claim that because the financial sector bears the bulk of the burden, the system is biased in favor of the government.

The Ministry declared that it is trying to rework the debt exchange offer with the Bank of Ghana, other financial sector authorities (SEC, NPRA, and NIC), as well as its advisors, including input from various institutions and the Unions.

The statement concluded, “We believe this extension will provide enough time for the necessary consultations and analysis to be finished to meet the expectations of local and foreign institutional bondholders while preserving the integrity of the Debt Sustainability Analysis and the Staff Level Agreement.”