Sir, - As an accountant I call attention to the fact that loans to third world countries continue to appear in IMF and World Bank balance sheets at full value. The servicing of those loans continues to depress the borrowing countries.
Only if repayment in full is anticipated can retaining of the loans as a balance sheet item be justified. What is the possibility of this?
Surely for the lending institutions to exchange their loans for some form of equity participation in the future development of the borrowing country, thus cancelling immediate interest charges, would be at once a realistic and a constructive move? - Yours, etc.,
Jack Fitzpatrick, FCA, Martello Manor, Bray, Co Wicklow.