NEW YORK - A number of former heads of state and policy makers have urged New York State lawmakers to push ahead with a bill that would alter the legal landscape governing over $800 billion in sovereign bonds from emerging markets ahead of the May 6 return of the state's legislature.The Sovereign Debt Stability Act aims to provide a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism by changing the state law governing about half of emerging market international bond contracts.
Targeted proposals, like lowering the interest rate that debts accumulate during litigation, are seen as discouraging holdouts. However well-intentioned, the bill"fails to address the larger and more significant challenges that typically delay and impede sovereign restructurings today," said law firm Cleary Gottlieb, pointing to diverging views of bilateral and multilateral lenders.