Book review: Avoiding the mistakes in Argentina’s US$100 billion debt restructuring

IN HIS autobiography, pre-eminent financier William R Rhodes notes a phrase inscribed on the gold Cross pen used by Nicaraguan authorities to sign off on their 1980s debt restructuring with private creditors: “Firmar me haras. Pagar jamas.” The phrase translates to “You can make me sign, but you’ll never make me pay” – a prescient warning that proved true.

Gregory Makoff continues in the tradition of Rhodes with his book Default: The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina’s US$100 Billion Debt Restructuring. He has penned the authoritative take on the most important debt restructuring (other than Greece) in the history of global finance.

A physicist by training, Makoff worked as a banker for more than two decades, advising developing nations on debt management policy. He then moved on to scholarly pursuits at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School.