Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014

400 Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014

Debit entry A debit entry is an increase in an asset, a decrease in a liability, or a decrease in

net worth...................................................................................................................................3.55

Debt assumption Debt assumption is a trilateral agreement between a creditor, a former debtor,

and a new debtor (typically a government unit), under which the new debtor

assumes the former debtor’s outstanding liability to the creditor, and is liable

for repayment of debt ........................................................................................A3.26

Debt conversion (swap) Debt conversion (swap) is an exchange of debt—typically at a discount—for a

nondebt claim (such as equity), or for counterpart funds that can be used to

fi nance a particular project or policy ..............................................................A3.20

Debt forgiveness (or debt

cancellation)

Debt forgiveness (or debt cancellation) is defi ned as the voluntary cancellation

of all or part of a debt obligation within a contractual arrangement between a

creditor and a debtor ...........................................................................................A3.7

Debt payments on behalf of

others

Rather than assuming a debt, a public sector unit may decide to repay that debt

or make a specifi c payment on behalf of another institutional unit (original

debtor), without a guarantee being called or the debt being taken over ....A3.30

Debt prepayment Debt prepayment consists of a repurchase, or early payment, of debt at condi-

tions that are agreed between the debtor and the creditor ..........................A3.24

Debt refi nancing Debt refi nancing involves the replacement of an existing debt instrument or

instruments, including any arrears, with a new debt instrument or instru-

ments .................................................................................................................. A3.14

Debt reorganization

(also referred to as debt

restructuring)

Debt reorganization (also referred to as debt restructuring) is defi ned as an

arrangement involving both the creditor and the debtor (and sometimes third

parties) that alters the terms established for servicing an existing debt ......A3.2

Debt rescheduling Debt rescheduling is a bilateral arrangement between the debtor and the credi-

tor that constitutes a formal postponement of debt service payments and the

application of new and generally extended maturities .................................A3.11

Debt securities Debt securities are negotiable fi nancial instruments serving as evidence of a

debt ...................................................................................................................... 7.14 3

Debt write-offs or

write-downs

Debt write-off s or write-downs refer to unilateral reductions by a creditor, of

the amount owed to it .......................................................................................A3.32

Deep-discount bonds Deep-discount bonds are long-term securities that require periodic coupon

payments during the life of the instrument, but the amount is substantially

below the market rate of interest at issuance ................................................. 7.147

Defeasance With defeasance, a debtor unit removes liabilities from its balance sheet by

pairing them with fi nancial assets, the income and value of which are suffi cient

to ensure that all debt-service payments are met ..........................................A3.37

Defi ned-benefi t pension

scheme

A defi ned-benefi t pension scheme is one where the benefi ts payable to an em-

ployee on retirement are determined by the use of a formula, either alone or as

a minimum amount payable ............................................................................A2.54

Defi ned-contribution pen-

sion scheme

A defi ned-contribution pension scheme is one where the benefi ts payable to

an employee on retirement are defi ned exclusively in terms of the level of the

funds built up from the contributions made over the employee’s working life

and the increases in value that result from the investment of these funds by the

manager of the scheme .....................................................................................A2.55