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ESM Treaty Reform - Explainer

Overview

On 4 December 2019, the Eurogroup agreed in principle, subject to national procedures, on the elements related to the ESM reform. These include the further development of ESM instruments, enhancing the ESM’s role and setting up a common backstop for the Single Resolution Fund (SRF). This Explainer covers the ESM reform and the revisions to the ESM Treaty and its supporting documents.

Explainer

Why was the ESM Treaty revised?

The ESM Treaty was revised to provide a legal basis for a set of new tasks assigned to the ESM. These tasks were part of a wider package of measures approved the by Heads of State or Government in December 2018 to complete the Banking Union and to strengthen further the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the ESM. This included the introduction of the common backstop for the Single Resolution Fund (SRF), to be provided by the ESM on behalf of the euro area, as well as the further development of the financial assistance instruments and the role of the ESM.

Will the ESM reform change anything in relation to the Pandemic Crisis Support (PCS)?

No, the conditions of the PCS will not change. The changes to the treaty do not impact the PCS instrument. For more see the Explainer on Pandemic Crisis Support.

What is the common backstop?

The Single Resolution Fund (SRF) is a fund established by the EU for resolving failing banks in the context of the Banking Union. It is financed by contributions from the banking sector, not by taxpayer money. In the event that the SRF is depleted, the ESM can act as a backstop and lend the necessary funds to the SRF to finance a resolution. To this end, the ESM will provide a revolving credit line.

If non-euro area Member States join the Banking Union, the ESM and non-euro area Member States will together provide the common backstop to the SRF, through parallel credit lines.

How much could the ESM lend to the Single Resolution Fund?

The nominal cap for ESM loans to the SRF is set at €68 billion. This figure is expected to be above the target level of the SRF (1% of covered deposits in the banking union) when the ESM backstop is introduced in 2022.  If the credit line is used, the SRF will pay back the ESM loan with money from bank contributions within three years, although this period can be extended so that the total maturity is up to five years. As a result, it will be fiscally neutral over the medium term.

When will the common backstop be introduced?

The common backstop was initially planned to be introduced by 1 January 2024. However, at its meeting on 30 November 2020, the Eurogroup decided to introduce the backstop in the beginning of 2022. This follows an assessment that sufficient progress has been made in reducing risks in the banking sector (see Monitoring Report on Risk Reduction Indicators, November 2020).
The criteria by which risk reduction was measured can be found in the “Term sheet on the European Stability Mechanism reform” (p.2, footnote 1).

In what situations can the SRF draw loans under the common backstop?

The ESM common backstop will be used only as a last resort, in the situation that the SRF is depleted, and the Single Resolution Board (SRB) is not able to raise sufficient contributions or borrow funds from other sources at acceptable rates.

Who will decide whether to disburse loans from the ESM to the SRF?

Decisions on loans and disbursements will be taken by the ESM Board of Directors (consisting of high-level officials from the 20 euro area finance ministries) by mutual agreement and on a case-by-case basis, guided by certain criteria. Such decisions should be taken within 12 hours of the SRB’s request, but in the case of a particularly complex resolution operation, the ESM Managing Director may agree to lengthen the deadline to up to 24 hours.

The Board of Directors may take a decision under an emergency voting procedure (qualified majority of 85% of the votes cast) if the European Commission and the ECB conclude that a failure to urgently adopt a decision would threaten the economic and financial sustainability of the euro area. A similar emergency voting procedure exists since 2012 for ESM’s financial assistance instruments.

Will the ESM’s Direct Recapitalisation Instrument for banks remain part of the ESM’s financial assistance toolkit?

No. After the establishment of the ESM common backstop, the Direct Recapitalisation Instrument for banks will be removed from the ESM’s toolkit of financial assistance instruments.

What precautionary credit lines are available?

Two types of credit lines are available in the ESM toolkit: a Precautionary Conditioned Credit Line (PCCL) and an Enhanced Conditions Credit Line (ECCL). The agreed reforms are meant to make the precautionary credit lines more effective.

Why are precautionary credit lines needed?

Precautionary credit lines are available for euro area Member States with sound economic fundamentals, which could be affected by an adverse shock beyond their control. In other words, precautionary credit lines intend to prevent potential small crises from turning into more serious ones that may make it necessary for the Member State to request an ESM loan with a full economic adjustment programme. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also has precautionary credit lines and several countries have used them successfully in recent years. 

How will the PCCL work under the revised ESM Treaty?

Access to a PCCL will be based on eligibility criteria and limited to ESM Members where the economic and financial situation is fundamentally strong. As a rule, ESM Members need to meet quantitative benchmarks and comply with qualitative conditions related to EU surveillance. The eligibility criteria include a track record of two years preceding the request for a PCCL with a general government deficit not exceeding 3% of GDP, a general government structural budget balance at or above the country specific minimum benchmark, a debt/GDP ratio below 60% or a reduction in the differential with respect to 60% over the previous two years at an average rate of 1/20 per year. In addition, the requesting country should have access to international capital markets on reasonable terms and a sustainable external position. It should also not be experiencing excessive imbalances or severe financial sector vulnerabilities.

In the case of PCCL, there will be no need for the requesting country to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Instead, the country will specify its policy intentions in a Letter of Intent (LoI), committing to continuous compliance with the eligibility criteria. Continuous respect of the eligibility criteria will be assessed at least every six months. The ESM Member has the right to request funds at any time during the availability period according to the agreed terms.

What happens if a country does not comply with the PCCL eligibility criteria?

If an ESM Member no longer complies with the eligibility criteria for the PCCL, access to the credit line will be discontinued, unless the Board of Directors decides by mutual agreement to maintain the credit line. If the country has drawn funds before the non-compliance is established, an additional margin will be charged.

What are the requirements for requesting an ECCL?

Access to an Enhanced Conditions Credit Line (ECCL) is open to ESM Members that do not comply with some of the eligibility criteria required for accessing a Precautionary Conditioned Credit Line (PCCL) but whose general economic and financial situation remains sound. The requesting country has to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) detailing policy conditionality, aimed at addressing the remaining weaknesses, and requiring a continuous respect of the eligibility criteria which were considered met when the credit line was granted.  Compliance with conditionality will be assessed on the basis of quarterly compliance reports submitted to the ESM Board of Directors. The ESM Member has the right to request funds at any time during the availability period according to the agreed terms.

What changes regarding debt sustainability are made in the revised ESM Treaty?

The ESM Treaty has since the ESM’s inception in 2012 included the requirement that the ESM should only provide stability support to countries whose debt is considered sustainable. The revised ESM Treaty will also require the confirmation of a country’s repayment capacity. The assessments on debt sustainability and repayment capacity will be conducted by the European Commission, in liaison with the ECB, and the ESM, on a transparent and predictable basis, while allowing at the same time a sufficient margin of judgement.

No changes are made regarding private sector involvement. The current ESM Treaty already addresses the point of an adequate and proportionate private sector involvement in accordance with long established IMF practice only in exceptional cases. Neither the current ESM Treaty, nor the revised Treaty make debt restructuring automatic.

What can be the ESM’s role as a potential facilitator?

In the future the ESM may, if so requested by the relevant ESM Member, facilitate the dialogue between that ESM Member and its private investors on a voluntary, informal, non-binding, temporary, and confidential basis. The constant contact the ESM already has with key players in the euro area sovereign debt markets makes the ESM well placed for this role.

The revised ESM Treaty envisages the introduction of single-limb Collective Action Clauses (CACs). What are they?

Collective action clauses are clauses in the documentation of a bond that allow changes to the terms of bonds that are subject to a vote by their holders. If a qualified majority approves the change, it becomes effective for all those bonds. Unlike for companies, there is no bankruptcy or restructuring procedure for sovereign issuers. Therefore, collective action clauses in sovereign bonds help make sovereign debt restructuring more orderly and predictable. A sovereign state’s bonds are typically divided into a number of different issuances, or “series” (with different maturities, interest amounts, etc.). Single-limb CACs allow the majority vote to take place at the level of all these “series” combined, without the need for a majority at the level of the holders of each individual “series”.

The introduction of the single-limb CACs does not change the current possibility for countries to use so-called sub-aggregation, which is to hold separate votes for different groups of bond issuances, opening the door to offer different conditions to each group.

Why introduce single-limb CACs?

Single-limb CACs are meant to address the problem of so-called holdout investors. Holdout investors in bonds can act strategically to take advantage of the problem a country faces and therefore deepen the crisis. In the past, certain firms have specialised in distressed sovereign debt by purchasing sovereign bonds at steep discounts. They then resisted any change of the terms of the bonds with the intent of subsequently litigating to get paid back in full, most of the time at the expense of the other bondholders. This strategy is feasible if the holdout investor can buy enough bonds to form a blocking minority in a restructuring vote. This is much easier if the voting system requires a majority within each “series”.

Single limb CACs address the described problem in the current voting system.

Research suggests that the change will not have a meaningful market impact on sovereign bonds.

What is the current situation regarding the use of CACs?

Since 1 January 2013, bonds issued by euro area governments must include CACs. However, these are currently “double-limb CACs”, which require two separate majorities to approve a change in bond terms: one at the level of each “series” and one at the level of all “series” combined. This means that it is currently easier for holdout investors to block a restructuring by concentrating their investment in a single “series”, compared to a single-limb CAC, where this strategy is not sufficient, as described above.

When will the single-limb CACs be implemented?

The revised ESM Treaty envisages the introduction of single-limb CACs as of 1 January 2022.

In November 2021, however, ESM Members agreed to implement single-limb CACs on the first day of the second month following the entry into force of the revised ESM Treaty. This decision would provide ESM Members sufficient time to make the necessary preparations to implement single-limb CACs in a harmonised and coordinated manner following the actual ratification of the revised ESM Treaty.

Read more here.

Why was it necessary to lay down the principles of the ESM’s cooperation with the Commission?

When the ESM and its predecessor, the EFSF, were set up, their main task was to raise and disburse the money necessary for the rescue loans by issuing bills and bonds on the financial markets. Over time, the ESM has taken on additional responsibilities. With the ESM programmes for Cyprus and Greece, the ESM has become involved in policy related issues and has worked closely in particular with the Commission, but also with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the IMF. The current cooperation with the Commission has been reflected in a joint MoU signed in April 2018.

In November 2018, the Commission and the ESM agreed on a joint position. The joint position on future cooperation was incorporated in a memorandum of cooperation, which will enter into force at the same time as the amendments to the ESM Treaty.

What will be the ESM’s new tasks in future financial assistance programmes?

The ESM will have a stronger role in the design, negotiation and monitoring of conditionality in future financial assistance programmes.

When an ESM Member requests support, the Commission in liaison with the ECB, and the ESM will work closely together to prepare the assessments supporting the decision to grant a loan. These include the assessment of a Member’s debt sustainability and repayment capacity, the assessment of financial stability risks, and the financing needs of the Member requesting support. The ESM will perform its analysis and assessment from the perspective of a lender.

The ESM will be involved in the design of policy conditionality and any future Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) detailing the conditionality attached to the financial assistance facility will be signed by both the Commission and the ESM Managing Director.

The ESM will also monitor compliance with the conditionality attached to the financial assistance facility together with the Commission in liaison with the ECB.

How will the ESM/EC perform the debt sustainability and the repayment capacity assessments?

The assessment of debt sustainability and repayment capacity, for the member state requesting financial assistance, will be carried out on a transparent and predictable basis. Assessments for financial assistance programmes will be carried out by the Commission in liaison with the ECB, and the ESM.

For the preparation of the debt sustainability analysis (“DSA”), the Commission will work on the basis of its growth forecasts and estimates, existing stocks and stock-flow adjustments, net borrowings and fiscal path, incorporating also the Commission’s assessment of compliance with Stability and Growth Pact requirements.  The ESM will contribute to the DSA with the analysis of the Member’s financing plans and cost of funding, which entails the assessment of the liquidity position, sovereign bond market and potential risks stemming from the size and structure of outstanding debt, debt issuance plans, interest rate developments, refinancing capacity and market access.

The repayment capacity assessment builds upon and complements the debt sustainability analysis and shifts the focus to the beneficiary Member State’s ability to manage its overall payment obligations, or liabilities, in a way ensuring the repayment to the ESM over the entire horizon of the lending relationship.

The general expectation is that institutions will come to a common view and present the debt sustainability and the repayment capacity assessments to the ESM decision-making bodies. In case the collaboration does not yield a common view, the Commission makes the overall assessment of the sustainability of the public debt, while the ESM assesses the capacity of the Member concerned to repay ESM loans.

Will the ESM analyse countries after they have concluded their stability support programmes?

As until now, the ESM will participate in post-programme monitoring to safeguard its balance sheet by assessing the ability of a beneficiary Member to repay. In accordance with the Early Warning System (“EWS”) Procedure established pursuant to Article 13 (6) of the ESM Treaty, the EWS starts with the first disbursement and continues until all financial assistance is fully repaid.

In principle, post-programme surveillance missions by the Commission and EWS missions are combined, to prevent unnecessary duplication of analysis by the Commission and the ESM and to avoid unnecessary burden on the relevant Member.

Will the ESM analyse countries in non-crisis times?

The Commission and the ESM will meet informally to share assessments and analysis pertaining to their respective competences as well as to discuss and assess macro-financial risks. The Commission, in agreement with the Member State concerned, may also invite ESM staff to join its missions related to economic policy coordination and budgetary monitoring.

The Members of the Commission responsible for Financial Stability and Economic and Financial Affairs and the ESM Managing Director meet at least twice a year, also in non-crisis times, to discuss issues of common interest, including the main findings of the macro-financial risk analysis.

What are the next steps in implementing the ESM reform?

The Amending Agreement to the ESM Treaty was signed in January and February 2021.The revised ESM Treaty will come into force once it has been ratified by the parliaments of all 20 ESM Member States. 

What are the next steps in the EMU reform?

The ESM reform is part of a comprehensive package of measures to deepen Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), including work on completing Banking Union. Capital Market Union serves to strengthen the single market for the European Union. It is particularly important for the euro area as it strengthens financing for the economy and makes it more robust.

Discussions will continue on the creation of a European deposit insurance scheme, which is the missing third pillar of banking union. More technical work will be needed to define the possible ways forward.