Finance

Frontier debt risks ‘going dark’ amid high costs and creative deals

Published

2 months ago

October 14, 2025

Frontier debt risks ‘going dark’ amid high costs and creative deals

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) – The need for emerging economies to be more transparent about their debt is one issue uniting wealthy countries and multilateral lenders in a fractious, divided world where the international order and development finance face pressure.

The World Bank in June launched a call for “radical” debt transparency and the United States outlined transparency as a key goal for international financial institutions under President Donald Trump’s leadership.

But in the past several years, the riskiest of those nations – so-called frontier market countries – have been taking on more private, complex and “creative” debt arrangements that inadvertently undercut the visibility of the terms of their debt.

“Everybody loves transparency…(but) whatever the confidentiality clauses say, we are seeing a lot less of the documentation of commercial bank and other private lending,” said Anna Gelpern, a law professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. who works on debt issues.

Collateralised lending to countries in strife that had dwindling options of raising funds causes particular issues, she added.

“That means that everything is going dark in terms of debt transparency.”

LIMITED ACCESS FOR BORROWERS

Countries from Panama and Colombia to Angola and Cameroon have sought to weather double-digit bond yields by seeking less conventional borrowing – from private placements to resource-backed loans or complex debt swaps requiring collateral.

While this is not on its own untoward, it means the terms of the debt – the cost, the collateral and even sometimes the tenure or amount – are not public.

This contrasts with international bond issuance where terms of the borrowing are published.

Some investors say the borrowing is a smart, sophisticated way to wait out times when bond markets might not be so easily accessible. But others warn this makes the total debt pile less transparent.

“With regards to collateralized borrowing, these kinds of hidden instruments, institutions like the IMF should be very worried about it, because they really then make the concept of preferred creditor very complicated,” said Reza Baqir, head of sovereign advisory at Alvarez & Marsal.

NET NEGATIVE, COST SAVING

The IMF estimated in a paper earlier this year that private lending to low-income countries outside international bonds as a percentage of their public and publicly guaranteed debt had risen to 10% by end-2023 from 6% at end-2010. Overall private lending – including international bond issuance – rose to 19% from 6%.

Victor Mourad of Citi said international bond issuance from Sub-Saharan African markets had been net negative – meaning governments raised less than they paid back – for the past three years.

Governments have sought cheaper funding sources – such as loans backed by development finance institutions such as the World Bank – and also more “creativity” via private placements and borrowing facilities in different currencies, though the alternatives they seek vary.

Nigeria has in the past secured oil-backed loans using crude oil cargoes as collateral. Angola opted for a $1 billion “total return swap” with JPMorgan, with privately placed bonds as collateral.

Aaron Grehan, co-head of emerging market debt with Aviva Investors, said Colombia and Panama had also avoided public debt markets, the former with dollar-bond buybacks and a total return swap, the latter with private placements.

Both had done well in these deals, he said, but will need to return to capital markets before too long due to the sheer amount they need. “You kick the can down the road,” he said.

When they return to public markets, investors will need to unpick their debt to try to determine what governments can sustainably borrow and repay.

“We have to do the homework and figure out if what is happening makes sense,” said Elina Theodorakopoulou, managing director and portfolio manager with Manulife Investment Management.

“If there is not enough transparency, that will be translated into the yield that you have to face if you were to access the market.”

Countries themselves say the deals have saved them money. Angola is still deciding on whether to extend its total return swap with JPMorgan, despite getting stung with a temporary $200 million margin call when oil prices slid.

“The cost of those financings is lower than the Eurobond,” said Dorivaldo Teixeira, general director of the public debt management unit at Angola’s finance ministry, while acknowledging the risks involved.

PUBLIC BORROWING, BUT HARDER TO ASSESS

At this week’s IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington, one of the issues the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable will seek to tackle is the trouble of restructuring private debt.

That has snared Zambia and Ghana in default for longer than expected.

Sources said governments and advisors underestimated how hard it would be to unpick, determining who holds it, on what terms and whether there was collateral which can put one borrower ahead in the queue. This complicates debt reworks, in which all borrowers, ostensibly, must get equal treatment.

“It raises risks,” said Thys Louw, a portfolio manager with Ninety One. “Anything that’s marginally opaque adds complexity.”

Reporting by Libby George and Karin Strohecker, Additional reporting by Nell Mackenzie; Editing by Andrea Ricci

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Libby George is a London-based journalist on the Reuters emerging markets team. She was part of a team named as Pulitzer finalists in 2023, and who won the Selden Ring Award for International Investigative Reporting, for a series of stories revealing abuses by Nigeria’s military. After launching her career as a political journalist in Washington, D.C., she joined Reuters in 2015 covering oil, and from 2019-2023, she was senior correspondent and acting bureau chief based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Karin Strohecker is the London-based Global Chief Correspondent for Emerging Markets, leading a team that covers debt and economic issues and investment trends in developing nations around the globe. Having joined Reuters more than 20 years ago, Karin has worked in text and television in Frankfurt, Berlin and Vienna, covering major events such as IMF World Bank meetings in Washington, the World Economic Forum in Davos, OPEC meetings and the World Cup.

Related Topics:AFR AMERS BISV BNK BNKS BSVC DBT DEST:OCABSM DEST:ORTAO DEST:OUKBSM DEST:OUSBSM EMEA EMRG EUB FIN FINS GEN GFIN imf INTAG LATAM POL WBNK

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Finance

Bérangère Michel announced as BBC Group Chief Financial Officer

Published

9 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Bérangère Michel announced as BBC Group Chief Financial Officer

The BBC has announced that Bérangère Michel has been appointed to the role of Group Chief Financial Officer.

Bérangère brings extensive experience from her 16-year career at the John Lewis Partnership, where she held senior roles including Chief Financial Officer, Customer Service Executive Director, Operations Director and Finance & Strategy Director.

Prior to joining the John Lewis Partnership, Bérangère spent 11 years at the Royal Mail Group in a number of finance, change and strategy roles, including as Finance Director of the property division.

In an expanded role as BBC Group Chief Financial Officer, Bérangère will be responsible for the overall BBC Group financial strategy, with a remit across BBC Public Service, BBC Studios and the BBC’s commercial subsidiaries. She will play a leadership role and will sit on both the Executive Committee and, for the first time, the Board.

This position will strengthen the BBC’s financial leadership, support its transformation, and make the best use of the licence fee and commercial opportunities. Bérangère will report to the Director-General and will take up the role in early January.

Director-General Tim Davie says: “Bérangère brings a wealth of experience from her time at the John Lewis Partnership and will play a critical role in shaping our new financial strategy. I’m pleased to welcome her to the BBC, and to both the Executive Committee and Board.

“Bérangère’s appointment to this expanded role comes at an important time for the BBC, as we look ahead to Charter renewal and continue to accelerate our transformation to deliver outstanding value for our audiences.”

BBC Chair Samir Shah says: “The role of Group Chief Financial Officer will be hugely important as we build a BBC for the future, and I look forward to welcoming Bérangère to the Board.”

Bérangère Michel says: “I am delighted to be joining the BBC, an institution whose purpose and mission I have always admired. It’s a privilege to be part of shaping its exciting future at such a crucial moment and I cannot wait to get started.”

BBC Press Office

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Finance

ATI Promotes Longtime Leader to CFO and SVP of Finance

Published

21 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

ATI Promotes Longtime Leader to CFO and SVP of Finance

Rob Foster, incoming CFO of ATI Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2026 [Photo: ATI}

ATI Inc., a Dallas-based manufacturer of high-performance materials for the aerospace and defense industries, announced that James Robert “Rob” Foster will be promoted to senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer, effective January 1, 2026.

Foster succeeds Don Newman, who will serve as strategic advisor to the CEO beginning January 1. As previously announced, Newman will retire on March 1, 2026, and serve in an advisory capacity in that time to allow for a smooth transition.

“Rob is a proven P&L leader with enterprise-wide experience in the areas that matter most to ATI’s continued growth,” Kim Fields, president and CEO, said in a statement. “He brings deep expertise not only in finance but also as an operational leader. Rob played a pivotal role in the successful Specialty Rolled Products transformation, consistently helping ATI to deliver strong returns and shareholder value. I look forward to partnering with him as we enter our next phase of profitable growth.”

Foster, a longtime ATI leader, brings both operational expertise and financial discipline to the CFO role, the company said. He most recently served as president of ATI’s specialty alloys & components business, where he improved efficiency, grew capacity, and advanced the company’s role as a global leader in exotic alloys. Foster previously served as vice president of Finance, Supply Chain, and Capital Projects, overseeing ATI’s global finance organization, capital deployment processes, and enterprise supply chain performance. Earlier in his career, he led Finance for both ATI operating segments and the Forged Products business.

“I’m honored to become ATI’s next CFO,” said Foster. “ATI is well-positioned with a strong balance sheet, focused strategy, and significant opportunities ahead. I look forward to working with our team to drive disciplined investment, operational excellence, and long-term value creation for our shareholders.”

Newman added, “Rob is an exceptional leader who understands ATI’s strategy, operations, and financial drivers. He has delivered transformative results across the organization. I look forward to supporting a seamless transition as we pursue this next step in our succession planning.”

Before joining ATI in 2012, Foster held senior finance roles at API Technologies Corp. and Spectrum Control Inc., where he led ERP implementations, acquisition integrations, and internal control enhancements. He began his career as an auditor at Ernst & Young (EY).

ATI produces high-performance materials and solutions for the global aerospace and defense markets, and critical applications in electronics, medical, and specialty energy.

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Finance

Abu Dhabi seeks to build bridge between new media & finance – The Times of India

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

ABU DHABI: Instead of waiting for the future of media, Abu Dhabi is building it. The city played host this week to leading names from media and entertainment industries at the Bridge Summit, aptly named for seeking to position the emirate at the intersection between new-age media, innovation and investment.The three-day event at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from Dec 8 to 10 buzzed with energy, new ideas, collaborations and MoU deals as thousands of content creators, media brands, communicators, tech developers, AI innovators, investors and academics — who have been working in isolation — converged to brainstorm ideas, analyse future trends in the media industry and discuss ways to monetise them. How to get around the associated risks of privacy violation, fake news and narratives, defamatory content and online harassment were a natural corollary to the discussions.The idea of Bridge Summit originated at a lunch meeting in Abu Dhabi earlier this year between Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohammed Bin Butti Al Hamed, chairman of UAE National Media Office, and Richard Attias, the Moroccan events producer associated with the Clinton Global Initiative, Nobel Laureates Conference and Davos Forum. The two discussed how UAE could give media, creators, tech innovators, social media outlets and investors a platform to connect and build the future of media. Eight months later, that dream turned into reality with Bridge Summit.Al Hamed, in his opening address, outlined Bridge Summit’s mission to unite media, technology, finance, and culture in building a more trusted, inclusive, and resilient information order.Speaking to TOI on the sidelines of the summit, Jamal Mohammed Obaid Al Kaabi, DG, UAE National Media Office and Bridge Alliance vice-chairman, said the forum seeks to secure a win-win situation for all, be it govts, media, content creators, social media platforms, gamers, investors and technology providers. “We are trying to help everyone — those who have a story to reach production, a company to reach a customer and govts to understand what’s happening in the market”.He added: “We believe that Bridge can be the brand that people will trust and look at in the future. We can connect it with media initiatives around the world. We believe that positive narrative can be supported through Bridge”.The global media and entertainment industry generated over $2.8 trillion last year, with gaming alone rivaling film and television at nearly $200 billion. Streaming continues to reshape consumption, while nearly 70% of content creators are already using AI tools.Rubbing shoulders at the summit were former heads of state, journalists, representatives of social media platforms, AI innovators, gaming developers, entrepreneurs and media influencers from across the globe; actors Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Idris Elba and footballer Gerard Pique lent it star power.Over three days of fireside chats, panel discussions, workshops and MoU signing, content creators and influencers took lessons from experts and peers on how to tell their stories better and hold their audience’s attention till the last frame.With artificial intelligence (AI) tools revolutionising the media space and content creation industry, engagements delved into how to maintain a judicious balance between human intelligence and artificial intelligence while tailoring content to suit users’ preferences and attention span.Sessions reflected on how the traditional print and TV journalism is being rapidly taken over by digital news content. Justin Smith, CEO of independent global news company Semafor, predicted that human journalist will continue to be relevant as the primary resource for original information, but must learn to harness the power of AI to add value. Richard Attias, who is on the Bridge board of directors, had a word of caution: “Human intelligence needs to always challenge artificial intelligence. We should not be losing the control of AI, which is like a robot”.According to UK journalist and broadcaster Emily Maitlis, agenda-based journalism is inevitable in the age of social media as one with a louder voice and reach, who can put out his version of the story more convincingly, tends to control the narrative. Adeline Hulin, chief of media and information literacy unit at Unesco, revealed that a global survey had found that 62% users don’t do any fact-checking before forwarding information online; most content creators are unaware of the international standards of freedom of expression; and just 20% users report hate speech. “Unesco has developed a global curriculum for media information literacy. We are working to integrate it with formal education and getting local partners to organise hackathons,” she said.Former deputy PM of UK Oliver Dowden advocated industry-led responsibility over sweeping regulation, saying there should be “clear guardrails” as creator content becomes the primary source of information for young audiences.Al Kaabi said Bridge Summit is just the beginning and “pop up” events will be held each coming quarter across America, Asia, Europe and Africa. “We want to hold a mini-Bridge in India. Also, there shall be more of Bollywood, not just Priyanka, at the next edition of the summit here,” he said.(The writer was in Abu Dhabi at the invitation of Bridge Alliance)