IIF Global Debt and Financial Stability Roundtable 2022 | IIF - Institute of International Finance | 23 April 2022 | Washington, DC and Online

As in previous years, this event will bring together senior public officials from both mature and emerging market economies, leaders from the private financial sector, and senior representatives from international financial institutions and academics.

High-level discussions will focus on recent developments in global sovereign debt markets and risks to financial stability. We will discuss the role of ESG in supporting debt sustainability and the need to enhance the sovereign debt architecture to ensure access to sustainable capital flows and a fair and timely resolution of debt restructurings. Two interactive sessions will feature expert speakers and offer participants the opportunity to ask questions and share comments:

The Role of ESG in Supporting Debt Sustainability
With sustainable finance and environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations high on the global policy agenda—and increasingly in focus for financial institutions—the past few years have seen a record expansion in ESG debt markets. Strong investor demand has prompted a surge in flows into ESG-labelled debt securities, hitting a record $1.4 trillion in 2021. These flows are expected to surpass $7 trillion by 2025, with emerging markets and developing countries accounting for around $2 trillion of that. With ESG-linked debt instruments promoting greater transparency and accountability, deeper and more liquid ESG debt markets will also help market participants to price risks appropriately, which in turn should increase financial resilience. We will also discuss how to overcome impediments to ESG integration in global debt markets, including the need for coherent, widely accepted taxonomy and classification frameworks.

Enhancing the Sovereign Debt Architecture
Alongside the sharp rise in global debt ratios, sovereign debt markets have been through a structural transformation over the past two decades. Increased connectivity in the face of technological advancements and new product development has allowed many sovereigns to gain deeper access to both international and domestic debt markets. The rapid expansion of Eurobond markets, the development of local currency bond markets, the rise of new official creditors and south-south capital flows have broadened the investor base and enhanced market liquidity. These changes—in tandem with lessons learned from recent debt restructurings, the emergence of the DSSI and Common Framework, and the surge of investor interest in ESG considerations—all underscore the need to enhance the sovereign debt architecture to ensure access to sustainable capital flows and a fair and timely resolution of debt restructurings.

2022 Sponsor

• Fitch Ratings