International public debt and cash management working groups
AFT represents France as a member of various debt and cash management working groups, including the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) Sub-Committee on EU Sovereign Debt Markets (ESDM), the Working Party on Public Debt Management (WPDM) at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the IMF’s Public Debt Management Forum.
SUB-COMMITTEE ON EU SOVEREIGN DEBT MARKETS (EUROPEAN UNION)
The Sub-Committee on EU sovereign debt markets ( ESDM) is a sub-group of the European Union’s Economic and Financial Committee. It is responsible for coordinating issuance policy (timetable and amounts as provided for in the 2012 regulations), preparing common positions for the various Member States on regulatory matters and technical aspects relating to the sovereign debt market. It also ensures
that the information disseminated about the different Member States’ debt issues is harmonised. This is the group that developed the collective action clauses (CACs) for euro area sovereign debt in 2012 and that started to revise these legal provisions in 2019 (see box on page 20). The group meets at least three times a year in Brussels.
WORKING PARTY ON DEBT MANAGEMENT (OECD)
The OECD Working Party on Public Debt Management (WPDM) provides a forum for sovereign debt managers to meet and discuss their views, experiences and policies. It publishes standardised statistics and reports comparing the management approaches adopted in different countries. The group meets twice a year, usually in Paris.
PUBLIC DEBT MANAGEMENT FORUM (IMF)
This forum is attended by all public debt managers, as well as representatives of the private sector, international institutions and regulators. The aim of the forum is to discuss current public debt management issues with regard to developments in the economic and regulatory environment. The forum meets once every two
years, alternating venues between Washington and one of the IMF member countries.
Working closely with the World Bank , this group help ed to review the Guidelines for Public Debt Management, an initiative undertaken by the G20 in 2013.
GOVERNMENT BORROWERS' FORUM
AFT also takes part in the World Bank’s Government Borrowers’ Forum, an annual event that brings together senior civil servants from countries issuing securities on international capital markets and the treasurers of supranational organisations to share their debt management experience and discuss their views on issues of common interest on financial markets. Approximately 100 senior debt managers from some 40 countries attend the forum.
The World Bank Treasury provides the secretariat for the forum, which is hosted by a different country each year.
PUBLIC SECTOR ISSUER FORUM
AFT also takes part in the European Public Sector Issuer Forum. The International Capital Market Association provides the secretariat for the Forum. The aim of the Forum’s meetings is to discuss issuers’ practices and issues facing the ecosystem that they belong to.
DEBT ISSUANCE MARKET CONTACT GROUP (ECB)
The Debt Issuance Market Contact Group (DIMCG) is a temporary forum created in April 2020 for interaction between the Eurosystem and industry professionals involved in euro area primary debt markets. The objective of the group is to identify issues that prevent further improvements in efficiency and integration in the area of debt issuance and initial distribution, covering the full transaction chain from pre-issuance to post-trade, and to investigate how these issues may be addressed.
The DIMCG is chaired by the ECB’s Directorate General Market Infrastructure and Payments, and is composed of members from the Eurosystem national central banks and private sector participants with a broad and deep knowledge of the issuance and initial distribution of debt securities. EU public authorities as well as representatives from relevant financial market associations can also attend as observers.