Definition: Note issuance facilities / Revolving underwriting...

Category: External debt - IMF

A note issued under an NIF/RUF is a short-term instrument issued under a legally binding medium-term facility—a form of revolving credit. A bank, or banks, underwrite, for a fee, the issuance of this three- or six-month paper and may be called upon to purchase any unsold paper at each rollover date, or to provide standby credit facilities. The basic difference between an NIF and an RUF is in the underwriting guarantee: under an RUF the underwriting banks agree to provide loans should the issue fail, but under an NIF they could either lend or purchase the outstanding notes. First developed in the early 1980s, the market for NIFs grew substantially for a short period in the mid-1980s. It was a potentially profitable market for international banks at a time when the syndicated credits market was depressed, following the debt crisis of the early 1980s. By the early 1990s, euro commercial paper (ECP), and euro medium-term notes (EMTNs) had become more popular forms of finance. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/external_debt_guide_2003_EN.pdf#page=227