Sub-sovereign guarantees

This is a straightforward use of state guarantees, when the financial obligations (or certain specific obligations, such as payment of the unitary charge or of the compensation on termination) of a local authority are back-stopped by the central government.

Similarly, there could be "second level" guarantees, where a State entity guarantees a private guarantor (e.g. a bank). This could prove useful in the current context where commercial banks' ratings are under stress.