Financial Challenges for Countries are Not Uncommon
Of course, there are no exact precedents for the financial challenges faced by America and many other countries in
the world today.
Yet a quick overview of a few government and corporate financial crises may illustrate how managements have addressed — or failed to address — the problems of their day.
(@)E) www.kpcb.com
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History Doesn't Repeat Itself, But It Often Rhymes’ —
What Can We Learn From These Credit Crises?
Sovereign Credit Crisis 2010 — Greece
($374B Debt Outstanding — 113% of GDP)
2009 — Dubai ($26B — 32% of GDP)
2001 — Argentina ($132B — 130% of GDP)
1998 — Russia ($73B — 27% of GDP)
State / Local Financial Woes
1975 — New York City ($14B* Debt Outstanding)
Corporate Bankruptcy
2009 — General Motors ($95B Debt Outstanding)
Note: 1) Attributed to Mark Twain. *NYC government and subsidiaries had $14B debt outstanding in 1975. Adjusting for
inflation, $14B of 1975 dollars would have been ~$50B in today’s dollars. Source: sovereign data points per IMF and
=) World Bank. NYC data point per California Research Bureau “Overview of New York City’s Fiscal Crisis,” 3/1/1995. (@E) www.kpcb.com
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