Senior financial debt holders on alert for forced haircuts

Automatic haircuts for senior bondholders were left out of the final European Stability Mechanism documentation announced by Eurozone leaders at the end of November. But that does not mean such an option won’t be used in future sovereign restructurings.

Haircuts from hell: bondholders fear the chop

Ongoing concerns about the ability of Portugal, Spain and other peripheral European countries to sustain their public debt burdens in the coming months have meant there has been little respite from market volatility, despite the €85 billion rescue of Ireland in November.

However, for bondholders – especially Eurozone banks – there is recognition that they have enjoyed a narrow escape: radical proposals by Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel to automatically haircut bondholders which could have