Since the 2011 debt ceiling debate, SIFMA, GFMA’s North American affiliate, has been coordinating industry-wide efforts to plan for a potential default by the U.S. government on its debt. Thankfully, the late agreement to raise the debt ceiling eliminated the need to utilize the industry playbook at this time. However, SIFMA will continue contingency planning should the potential for default reoccur. “We have the structure and participants in place, should we need to go there,” said SIFMA’s Rob Toomey. “We can mitigate operational risks, but not the impact on the price of Treasuries or the risk to the full faith and credit of the United States.”