The World Bank has launched a large-scale creditor-debtor data reconciliation exercise to tighten scrutiny of sovereign debt and improve transparency in distressed economies.

The initiative, unveiled at the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable during the 2026 Spring Meetings in Washington DC, will align records between borrowing countries and their creditors to expose discrepancies and hidden liabilities.

The roundtable is co-chaired by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the presidency of the G20.

Hidden debtThe push follows growing concern over undisclosed liabilities, highlighted when the IMF suspended a $1.8 billion programme with Senegal in 2024 after revelations of about $13 billion in previously unreported debt.

“Recent amendments to domestic laws to improve debt transparency, such as in Zambia, provide examples of how strengthening institutional frameworks can be conducive to debt transparency.”The exercise will subject debtor economies’ accounts to stricter disclosure standards, particularly around complex and off-balance-sheet borrowing.

Countries such as Kenya, which has increasingly used securitisation of levies, are likely to face closer examination.

Ghana has similarly securitised energy levies to back long-term borrowing for infrastructure financing.

Opaque risksThe Roundtable warned that while collateralised and structured financing can play a role, opaque arrangements pose systemic risks.“Recent cases of opaque and complex arrangements involving financial collateral involve significant risks. It is difficult to assess the scale of financial collateralisation since data is often not published, which undermines sound lending and borrowing decisions,” the Roundtable states.

Such concerns reflect a broader shift towards scrutinising non-traditional debt instruments that sit outside standard reporting frameworks.

The IMF has separately called for wider debt reporting in Kenya, including securitised cashflows and state arrears.

In a technical note published on April 1, 2026, the Fund said debt statistics should cover a broader range of instruments and public entities, including pending bills and future revenue-backed financing.

For countries already restructuring debt, the initiative will also sharpen focus on “comparability of treatment” – how different creditors are treated in negotiations.“Improving transparency of the restructuring process involves key steps such as the publication of parameters against which comparability of treatment will be assessed as soon as the Agreement in Principle has been reached with the official bilateral creditors,” the Roundtable said.

According to the IMF, at least one-third of economies in Sub-Saharan Africa are either in debt distress or at high risk, with 21 countries running fiscal deficits too large to stabilise debt.

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