Government Debt and Risk Management Program

Customized Public Debt Advice for Middle-income Countries

The Government Debt and Risk Management (GDRM) Program provides customized technical advisory to middle-income countries in a programmatic approach. The Program assists countries in developing sustainable debt and risk management frameworks to reduce vulnerability to financial shocks.

Download the GDRM Program brochure for detailed information

Focus on Middle-income Countries

The GDRM Program focuses on middle-income countries (MICs), which are home to 75% of the world’s poor. MIC governments face a unique set of fiscal challenges. They must finance the budget at the lowest possible cost, deepen the domestic market, borrow internationally, and develop the capacity to handle more complex financial instruments, often with limited human and technical resources. The GDRM Program customizes technical assistance to each country’s institutional and technical capacity, and supports them with a programmatic approach: from diagnostic work and developing reform plans to implementation.

Participating Countries

Albania, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, North Macedonia, Morocco, South Africa, Serbia, Peru, Ukraine, Vietnam

Program Areas

Institutional Strengthening focuses on governance, policy coordination, strengthening debt and cash management relations, and capacity and management of internal operations.

Technical Capacity Development covers debt management strategy development and implementation, management of contingent liabilities as well as asset and liability management.

Supporting Egypt’s Inaugural Green Bond Issuance
Under the GDRM Program, the World Bank, a pioneer of green bonds and sustainable development bonds, provided expertise for Egypt’s inaugural green bond issuance.

Ten Years of Success: How Colombia Used a World Bank Program to Help Shock-Proof its Economy
Colombia and the Government Debt and Risk Management (GDRM) Program celebrate the 10-year anniversary of a successful partnership in strengthening the country’s resilience to economic shocks.

"Solarizing" Peru — strengthening Peru's fiscal resilience amid COVID-19
The Peruvian government partnered with the World Bank's Government Debt and Risk Management (GDRM) Program to build a deep and liquid domestic government-securities market, dominated in soles, the local currency.

More Transparency, Less Risk: North Macedonia Adopts Credit-Risk Methodology for Sovereign Guarantees
North Macedonia, with GDRM Program support, introduced new legislation to improve transparency, assessment, and management of public finance risks.

Managing Fiscal Risk in Colombia
The Colombian government has partnered with the World Bank's Government Debt and Risk Management (GDRM) Program for developing a new methodology to improve the mitigation of contingent liabilities for infrastructure projects.

Indonesia – A Recipe for Stronger Financial Risk Management
Indonesia, with support from the GDRM program, gradually and steadily adopted a sovereign asset and liability management (ALM) approach for increasing fiscal resiliency.

Ukraine: Building the domestic debt market for local currency issuances
Through a partnership with the GDRM Program, Ukraine is moving in the right direction for developing the domestic debt market: increased communication with the investors, move to benchmark securities and the expansion of UAH investors.

Looking at the big picture: Sovereign Balance Sheet Risk Management Workshop introduces additional methods to account for both Assets and Liabilities
In Thailand, participants of the GDRM Sovereign Balance Sheet Risk Management workshop become the change agents to make the country more resilient to economic shocks.

Colombia: Changes in primary dealer system improve the efficiency of the government securities market
Colombia partners with the World Bank Treasury - Government Debt and Risk Management (GDRM) Program in their quest to modernize the primary dealer system for government securities.

The GDRM Program Phase I Completion Report is published
Supporting our clients develop sophisticated skills and tools to manage public debt in a more strategic, less risky, less costly, and more transparent way.

A classroom where the sound practice meets with the impact: Inaugural Cash Management Workshop
The GDRM Program is strengthening public servants’ capacity to manage debt through a new workshop about cash flow forecasting and cash management.

Albania: Helping the government reduce the cost of borrowing
The World Bank and the Albanian authorities have started an innovative Pilot project for developing a secondary market for government securities.

Azerbaijan: Just-in-time support for the economy
The Azerbaijan ministry of finance collaborated with World Bank Group to help develop a public finance strategy for the medium term, providing policy guidance for sustainable and sound public debt management for all stakeholders.

North Macedonia’s drive for excellence: shaping and maintaining a state of the art Public Debt Department
North Macedonia’s pursuit to build human capital to make the economy more resilient to fiscal shocks is supported with the World Bank Treasury GDRM Program - North Macedonia Public Debt Department partnership.

South Africa on the Right Track - Assessing the Contingent Liabilities from State-Owned Enterprises
The South African debt management office’s partnership with the World Bank Treasury GDRM Program is making significant strides towards assessing and managing government’s contingent liabilities.

Envisioning the Future in Colombia
GDRM program’s support for fine-tuning risk assessment and the management of contingent liabilities for the Colombian government.

Ghana: Catalyzing South–South Dialogue for Managing Contingent Liabilities
As a part of the ambitious fiscal reform plan, Ghana partnered with the GDRM program to improve risk monitoring and assessment related to contingent liabilities.
A hard swap – Supporting Tunisia in better understanding the foreign currency exposure for government debt operations

Tunisian debt management office partnered with the GDRM program to develop an accurate methodology to measure the fair value of currency swaps.

Serbia: After the Crises -Making the Economy More Resilient to Financial Shocks
The Serbian Public Debt Administration partnered with the GDRM program to reduce borrowing costs and exposure to financial risks.

Peru: Sending the Right Market Signals
Peruvian government worked with the GDRM program on improving the debt management strategy to provide more clarity and transparency in the domestic issuance of government securities to investors.

Indonesia: Basing Infrastructure Investment on More Solid Ground
The Indonesian government partnered with the GDRM Program to assess and manage the risks of government guarantees for infrastructure projects.

Vietnam: Building a Framework for Mobilizing Development
Vietnam has partnered with the GDRM program to improve its Public Debt Law to support investment in infrastructure and social programs.

Best-in-Class: Serbia’s Solution for Improved Debt ManagementSerbia partnered with the GDRM program to receive technical assistance to build institutional capacity for debt management.

Designing a Better Financial Shock Absorber to Improve Risk Management of South Africa’s Debt Portfolio
South Africa has improved the financial risk management of its public debt portfolio thanks to a tailor-made model designed to analyze the costs and risk factors.

VIDEOS

Solarizing Peru - Supporting local currency debt market development
Video | May, 2020

Ukraine: Making Local Currency Bonds More Attractive for Foreign Investors
Video | September, 2019

Albania: Overcoming the boundaries of a small domestic market
Video | July, 2019

Supporting South Africa: contingent liability management and better communication to stakeholders
Video | June 19 , 2018

How has Serbian Debt Management benefited from the GDRM Program
Video | March 19, 2018

Supporting Peru in deepening domestic markets and revising the debt management strategy, an interview with Carlos Blanco
Video | January 15, 2018

Supporting Colombia - for a sound debt management framework
Video | August 10, 2017

Supporting Ghana in Transitioning from a Low Income to a Middle Income Country: An Interview with Samuel D. Arkhurst
Video | June 5, 2017

Why We Fund the GDRM Program: An Interview with Rosmarie Schlup, Head of the Macroeconomic Support Division, SECO
Video | May 3, 2017

Programmatic

Designed for the medium term, the GDRM Program supports partner countries from upstream, diagnostic work and developing reform plans, to downstream implementation of the plans.

The right expertise

The core team consists of public debt management professionals who have held positions in public debt offices in emerging and developed countries. As seasoned practitioners, speaking the same technical language as their country partners, they provide pragmatic solutions in advanced areas such as issuance in international capital markets, use of derivatives, market-, credit- and operational-risk management, and contingent liabilities management.

Know your partners

Once a country becomes part of the GDRM Program, dedicated debt managers build and manage long-term relationships with partner countries’ management and technical teams. They support their counterparts in all debt management related issues, giving trusted advice, becoming a sounding board, and providing much needed continuity. As they develop a deep understanding of the country’s context, they recommend tailor-made solutions, specific to countries needs and national priorities.

Peer learning

The Program connects countries facing similar issues, providing a platform for an in-depth exchange of ideas and experiences. Peer Group Dialogues provide a cost-effective way to discuss challenges and policy actions on a virtual platform. South-South Collaboration promotes in-depth engagement by multi-country authorities and WBG experts to tackle common reform priorities.

Sustainable outcomes

The GDRM Program is focused on sustainable outcomes. It not only allows time for diagnostic work and plan recommendations, but also time to support the client through implementation, achieving change within the partner country and seeing the reform plans take root.

WORKSHOP | Virtual peer-to-peer workshop on ESG instruments

On June 28, 2022, the GDRM Program, organized a workshop to provide an opportunity for debt managers to exchange experiences in the use of ESG instruments and their pros and cons.

FEATURE STORY | Supporting Egypt’s Inaugural Green Bond Issuance

Under the GDRM Program, the World Bank, a pioneer of green bonds and sustainable development bonds, provided expertise for Egypt’s inaugural green bond issuance. Read more

EVENT | 4th Roundtable of Government Debt and Risk Management

February 22-23, 2022

The GDRM Program held the 4th Roundtable event to provide a platform for debt managers in GDRM countries to share their work and accomplishments as well as to engage with their peers in discussions on debt management challenges during the pandemic, the use of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) instruments in debt management, and fiscal risk management. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was held virtually. Read more

FEATURE STORY | Ten Years of Success: How Colombia Used a World Bank Program to Help Shock-Proof its Economy

Colombia and the Government Debt and Risk Management (GDRM) Program celebrate the 10-year anniversary of a successful partnership in strengthening the country’s resilience to economic shocks. Read more

FEATURE STORY | "Solarizing" Peru — strengthening Peru's fiscal resilience amid COVID-19

The Peruvian government partnered with GDRM Program to build a deep and liquid domestic government-securities market, dominated in soles, the local currency. Read More

FEATURE STORY | More Transparency, Less Risk: North Macedonia Adopts Credit-Risk Methodology for Sovereign Guarantees

North Macedonia, with GDRM Program support, introduced new legislation to improve transparency, assessment, and management of public finance risks. Read more

FEATURE STORY | Managing Fiscal Risk in Colombia

The Colombian government has partnered with the World Bank's Government Debt and Risk Management (GDRM) Program for developing a new methodology to improve the mitigation of contingent liabilities for infrastructure projects Read more

FEATURE STORY | Indonesia – A Recipe for Stronger Financial Risk Management

Indonesia gradually and steadily, with GDRM Program support, adopted a sovereign asset and liability management (ALM) approach for increasing fiscal resiliency. Read more

PRESS RELEASE | World Bank to Support Serbia Manage Fiscal Risks

World Bank announced the launch of a new advisory project under the GDRM program umbrella which will assist Serbia in managing fiscal risks and building fiscal resilience. SECO is increasing the budget of the GDRM Program by $1.5 million. Read more

WEBINAR | Colombian Experience: Issuing the first 30-year bond through domestic syndication

On September 9, 2020, the Colombian Ministry of Finance and Public Credit successfully issued their first 30-year government security, In this GDRM Program webinar, Cesar Arias, Director of Public Credit and National Treasury, shares Colombia’s experience with public debt managers across the world. Read more

NEWS | Northern Macedonia: Credit rating stable even in the time of COVID-19

Rodrigo Cabral, Senior Debt Specialist and GDRM program manager, World Bank and Bojan Shimbov, Economist, World Bank, discuss the effects of COVID-19 on the Macedonian economy for Voice of America. Read more

NEWS | Egypt set to issue first green sovereign bond

The World Bank, through the Government Debt and Risk Management (GDRM) program supported the government of Egypt in making its debut in sovereign green bond issuance - a first in the Middle East and North Africa region. The GDRM program looks forward to providing technical assistance for post-issuance allocation and impact reporting. Read more

EVENT |2017 GDRM Roundtable - Navigating Debt Markets

Event description. October 16-17, 2017

About GDRM Roundtable:
The World Bank Treasury has successfully concluded its second Government Debt and Risk Management (GDRM) program roundtable. 27 government debt managers representing 18 emerging market countries gathered in the World Bank Treasury building in downtown Washington DC to share experiences and sound practices with fellow debt managers.

The participants discussed a range of topics related to the theme of navigating debt markets, such as currency choice, using cross-currency swaps, innovative financial instruments, international settlement of local currency bonds, and managing relations with non-resident investors. The member countries also had the opportunity to review individual country cases and concluded the roundtable session with discussions about how the second phase of the GDRM program can support member countries in their efforts.

Learn more here.

EVENT | 2016 GDRM Day - What Have We Learned and Where Do We Go from Here?

October 18, 2016

About GDRM Day: During this seminar, the Government Debt & Risk Management Program leaders and participating countries came together to take stock of the achievements, share experiences on reform implementation and learn from reform initiatives in program countries.

Learn more here.