Rothschild Advising Ivory Coast on Novel Debt-Swap Deal
Rothschild & Co. is advising Ivory Coast on a swap designed to help it refinance around €400 million ($420 million) of its costliest debt at terms that would generate savings for fiscal and social goals, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal, if it goes ahead, would be backed by a guarantee from the World Bank, said the people who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Savings generated would go toward upgrading Ivory Coast’s education services, documents show.
Representatives for Rothschild, Ivory Coast and the World Bank declined to comment. Rothschild is contemplating the deal structure as part of its wider role advising Ivory Coast on how to improve its credit profile, the people familiar with the deal talks said.
The swap being considered is part of a growing market for such products, designed to help governments refinance existing debt at favorable terms and put savings toward environmental or social goals.
Though the market for debt swaps remains small, a number of Wall Street banks have started to explore similar transactions. Last month, six nonprofits agreed to back a pipeline of deals amid estimates that such swaps have the potential to unlock as much as $100 billion in climate and nature finance.
The Ivory Coast transaction would be the first to fall under a new framework backed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for so-called debt-for-development swaps.
In addition to enabling Ivory Coast to refinance existing debt, the World Bank guarantee would help the African nation secure a sustainability-linked loan, according to documents describing the deal.
S&P Global Ratings last month raised Ivory Coast’s rating to BB from BB-, leaving it two steps below the coveted investment-grade level.
The swap, if it goes ahead, would lead to more than a percentage-point reduction in the so-called debt service-to-revenue ratio from an expected 2025 peak, the documents show.
