Britain is not alone in believing that the Latin debt should be dealt with in other forums.

Greater use might be made of the secondary market, where Latin debt now trades at less than 50 cents on the dollar.

Certainly, if the price of the securitized Latin debt is low enough, buyers would be willing to accept a large risk for a large return.

With so much in potential fees riding on this, many say it is only a matter of time before a public market for Latin debt appears.

America must take the lead on Latin debt, orchestrating concessions by banks and offering government capital through multilateral lenders.

Washington seems to be alone in its optimism that the Latin debts can be fully serviced.

Between 1975 and 1982, Latin American debt to commercial banks increased at a cumulative annual rate of 20.4 percent.

One major difference, however, is that most of the Latin debt is owed to banks, not governments.

Prior to his election he was an investment banker specialising in Latin American debt.

Forgiveness remains a forbidden word among most commercial bankers, however, with regard to Latin American debt.