A collective action clause (CAC) allows a supermajority of bondholders

Bond (finance)

In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...

 to agree a debt restructuring

Debt restructuring

Debt restructuring is a process that allows a private or public company – or a sovereign entity – facing cash flow problems and financial distress, to reduce and renegotiate its delinquent debts in order to improve or restore liquidity and rehabilitate so that it can continue its...

 that is legally binding on all holders of the bond, including those who vote against the restructuring. Bondholders generally opposed such clauses in the 1980s and 1990s, fearing that it gave debtors too much power. However, following Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

's December 2001 default on its debts in which its bonds lost 70% of their value, CACs have become much more common, as they are now seen as potentially warding off more drastic action, but enabling easier coordination of bondholders.

External links

• Haldane, Andrew G, Penalver, Adrian, Saporta, Victoria, Shin, Hyun Song (2005), "Optimal collective action clause thresholds", Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Spring 2005
• Martin Gunkel Oktober 2006, Bewältigung von Staatsinsolvenz durch collective action clauses?, Diplomica GmbH, Hamburg, ISBN 3-8366-5135-1, Zugl.: Berlin, Techn. Univ., Diplomarbeit, 2006. (It is a summary about the discussion of cac as instrument to solving state insolvency and include a rich literature review)