Thread by @tim_jones6

One of the most outrageous bonds out there must be the $1bn lent to Ghana in 2015 at 10.75% interest with a $400m guarantee from the World Bank.

A buyer of the bond in 2015 is already guaranteed to get $1.15bn. And they are still 'owed' $1bn, and $860m of interest payments / 🧵

2 / Interest payments on the bond have been $752.5m from 2016 to 2022. And if Ghana stops paying, the World Bank will pay $400m to bondholders: so $1.15bn in total, guaranteed.

3 / But if Ghana does keep paying until the bond matures in 2030, that's another $860m in interest, and the $1 billion of principal.

4 / What on earth was the World Bank doing, guaranteeing a bond with such a high interest rate? Once again, speculators must have been laughing all the way to the bank.

Even the IMF criticised the deal, saying that the
terms of the bond “were worse than expected”

5 / The cost to Ghana is even higher because the World Bank has charged a 0.75% fee for the guarantee every year. That's a further $45m Ghana has had to pay for a ridiculously expensive loan

6 / This is more context for any owners of Ghana's $ bonds complaining about 'losses' over coming weeks, months or years

#CancelTheDebt

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