Merkel and Sarkozy agreed that as of 2013, in any future crisis, creditors would be bailed in. It would not just be taxpayers who put up new funds. Haircutting the creditors would help to bring debts down. It was equitable. And it would serve a useful disciplining function. Creditors would take their responsibilities more seriously if they knew that they had skin in the game. The package was announced without forewarning in a press release late in the afternoon of October 18, 2010.
