These are essentially refinancing mechanisms.

In July 1996, it slimmed down to 50 percent, and further down to 30 percent in June 1997.

Second, the IMF should let Argentina and its creditors work out a refinancing or rescheduling agreement.

In the United States, the Federal Reserve has lowered its benchmark interest rate ten times since August 2007, from 5.25 to a zone between zero and 0.25 , and has reduced the discount rate 12 times (by a total of 550 basis points since June 2006), to 0.75 .

In the previous tightening cycle, which began in 2004, it took the Fed two years to normalize the policy rate.

The European Central Bank has lowered its main refinancing rate eight times, by a total of 325 basis points, to 0.75 .

Lower interest rates worked (a little), but for the most part by encouraging households to refinance their mortgages, not by stimulating investment.

public provision of credit to the solvent parts of the corporate sector in order to avoid a short term debt refinancing crisis for solvent but illiquid corporations and small businesses

Indeed, some experts, too, believe that the crisis can be resolved simply by refinancing banks, and that the impact on the real economy will be relatively limited.

Of course, fiscal sustainability is vital to prevent a disruptive debt refinancing and inspire confidence among investors and consumers.

But the role of debt finance has been growing and, with it, the need to refinance old debt when total expenditure, including debt service, exceeds total revenue.

These differences, and the lessons that have been learned from Japan s lost decade about the need to refinance the banking system, suggest that a lost decade for the US is most unlikely.

Moreover, the interests rates charged on these loans are not linked to market rates, but rather to the bank s refinancing cost, which is already close to zero.

For those without an equity cushion, refinancing was not a possibility, and rising interest rates have led to default, foreclosure, and homelessness.

Sixth, rising government debt ratios will eventually lead to increases in real interest rates that may crowd out private spending and even lead to sovereign refinancing risk.

Ukraine s current refinance rate is 16 a year, 10 less than inflation, which means that Ukraine has a negative real interest rate of 10 a year.

Owner occupancy rates are high in the US, and the financial system allows households to extract the equity in their homes relatively cheaply, either by second liens or by refinancing the entire mortgage.

Like banks, all these financial institutions are subject to liquidity or rollover risk the risk of going belly up if their creditors do not rollover their short term credit lines.

Like banks, all these financial institutions are subject to liquidity or rollover risk the risk of going belly up if their creditors do not rollover their short term credit lines.

From the standpoint of Greece s ability to pay, such units would be more relevant, since it doesn t have to pay off its debts fully in one year (unless the crisis makes it impossible to refinance current debt).

And it is not just short term policy rates that are now negative in nominal terms about 3 trillion of assets in Europe and Japan, at maturities as long as ten years (in the case of Swiss government bonds), now have negative interest rates.