News of bank

INFLATION

Central Bank expects considerable drop in inflation this year

Yesterday 14:05 Institution has made largest interest rate cut in the world in recent weeks, in an attempt to revive an economy that is forecast to contract by 2020 for the third straight year.

Bloomberg

Central Bank sells dollars for first time since October 27 election

21-01-2020 09:27 Decree published in the Official Gazette confirms economist Sergio Woyecheszen as the Central Bank's vice-president, serving until September 23, 2022, subject to approval in the Senate.

CENTRAL BANK

Central Bank cuts interest rates for fourth time in just over a month

17-01-2020 13:49 The reforms consist of a reduction in interest rates to improve demand and will allow companies to send foreign currency to enhance international trade and capital control.

Bloomberg

Paraguay set for economic rebound after recession

14-01-2020 16:04 Central Bank chief says Paraguay's economy will expand 4.1% as a broad recovery spanning agriculture to industry takes hold.

FERNÁNDEZ'S FIRST MONTH

Fernández walks tightrope as he celebrates first month in office

09-01-2020 20:00 A month into his presidency, Peronist leader has embarked on an ambitious and risky juggling act in a bid to drag Argentina out of its worst economic crisis in almost 20 years.

MIGUEL PESCE INTERVIEW

Miguel Pesce: Central Bank will try to cut rates, slow inflation

09-01-2020 12:46 New Central Bank chief refuses to make inflation forecasts, saying he wants to rebuild the institution’s credibility “with results.”

CAPITAL CONTROLS

‘Strict’ foreign-exchange controls to stay in place, says Kulfas

05-01-2020 08:26 “In the current context, strict exchange rate regulations are inevitable,” says production minister

Ley de Solidaridad

Cafiero: Government will approve emergency economic measures today

23-12-2019 17:23 "The enactment will be today," says Cabinet Chief.

INTERVIEW

Argentina is in 'virtual default,' declares President Fernández

23-12-2019 08:53 "It is not the same as 2001, but it is similar," Fernández said in an interview with TV programme La Cornice. "Today we are in virtual default."

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Fernández secures sweeping powers to conduct debt talks

22-12-2019 22:29 President will now have more authority to negotiate with creditors, raise worker salaries and hike taxes. Government secured passage with concessions including lower export taxes on oil, gas and mining, and tax relief for small farmers.

CENTRAL BANK CHIEF

Government will continue making payments during debt talks, says Pesce

19-12-2019 07:42 Speaking at event at the American Club, new Central Bank chief says government wants to continue making debt payments while it renegotiates with creditors in the coming months.

NEW CABINET

Meet Martín Guzmán, Argentina's next economy minister

09-12-2019 14:07 New economy minister, who is close to Nobel-Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, is seen as a critic of the International Monetary Fund.

NEW GOVERNMENT

Fernández names Miguel Ángel Pesce as Central Bank chief

06-12-2019 22:39 Economist will lead Argentina’s Central Bank during the administration of president-elect Alberto Fernández, who announced his Cabinet appointments in a press conference on Friday.

TRANSITION 2019

Sandleris confirms resignation as Central Bank chief

05-12-2019 06:58 Central Bank chief confirms he will resign post ahead of December 10 handover. Argentina's monetary institution has had 61 presidents in the 84 years since its founding.

DEBT DEFAULT?

IMF waits for 'sustainable' plan as Fernández faces debt dilemma

19-11-2019 16:18 Director General Kristalina Georgieva continues to articulate optimism about working together with Argentina's incoming government, but she admits she'd "like to know more" about its plans.

Bloomberg

Central Bank seen seeking weak peso under Fernández

18-11-2019 12:17 Fernández has promised voters he will revive the economy from its slump. He now intends to make the Central Bank a centrepiece for that strategy.

PESO SLUMPS

Chile's Central Bank to inject US$4 billion to halt curency slide

14-11-2019 11:05 Chile's currency closed at a new record low for the second day running on Wednesday after losing another 1.5 percent amidst a weeks-long crisis.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina running dangerously low on dollars to pay back debt

12-11-2019 17:18 Argentina must repay US$5 billion by the end of 2019. It doesn’t have much to work with.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Central Bank alters 2019 forecasts: 3% drop in GDP, inflation at 55.6%

05-11-2019 14:15 Monthly survey carried out by Central Bank downgrades forecasts for Argentina's economy.

BLOOMBERG

Fine print on Argentine bonds becomes crucial as default fears grow

01-11-2019 13:28 President-elect Alberto Fernández says Argentina needs debt relief. Investors are paying a premium for bonds that they think will give them more negotiating power in the event of a default.

CURRENCY CONTROLS

Central Bank tightens 'cepo,' sets US$50 limit on cash advances abroad

31-10-2019 22:10 The move comes three days after the Central Bank sharply tightened currency exchange controls to stem a surge in capital flight.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Could dollarisation be Argentina's salvation?

30-10-2019 14:50 To a growing number of respected economists, the only path to a fresh start for Argentina involves embracing the US dollar.

by Mac Margolis

Election 2019

Fernández meets Macri at Casa Rosada as transition of power begins

28-10-2019 12:04 Incoming president Alberto Fernández and outgoing president Mauricio Macri met this morning in the wake of Sunday night's election to plan the handover and discuss tension in the markets.

'Cepo total'

US$200 limit: Central Bank tightens currency controls in wake of election

28-10-2019 01:03 The move looks to preserve international reserves during the political transition but risks causing the black market exchange rate to skyrocket.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Economic activity dropped 3.8% in August year-on-year

24-10-2019 21:00 The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently predicted that Argentina's gross domestic product would decline by 3.1% in 2019.

CENTRAL BANK

Sandleris asks for 'basic consensus' to ensure Argentina grows

16-10-2019 08:29 "If we manage to build basic consensus, our economy can leave behind instability and crisis, so that we can begin to grow steadily and begin to lower inflation," declares Central Bank chief.

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

World Bank: Slowdown in Latin America 'more self-inflicted than imported'

10-10-2019 15:19 World Bank predicts Argentina's economic contraction will deepen this year to 3.1%.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina's external debt equivalent to US$6,310 per person

09-10-2019 17:24 Foreign debt continues to grow, with the total figure now standing at close to US$284 billion, according to INDEC. That works out to around 378,604 pesos per person at the current exchange rate.

DOLLAR VS. PESO

Central Bank survey forecasts 65 pesos per dollar by end of 2019

05-10-2019 10:55 The Central Bank’s REM latest survey of 45 economic consultants and think tanks this week did not detect any new inflationary spiral with the forecast for 2019 remaining constant at 54.9 percent.

BLOOMBERG

Argentines shift money into short-term deposits ahead of election

03-10-2019 18:46 As the presidential vote draws closer, savers are increasingly choosing short-term instruments for their deposits.

Campaign watch

The IMF jumps ship – Argentina is officially on its own

28-09-2019 03:59 Timing is everything in diplomacy and business... Lipton’s carefully chosen words sounded like a bureaucratic version of revenge on a silver platter.

by Marcelo J. Garcia

argentina

What we learned this week: September 22 to 27

28-09-2019 03:55 Key stories from the last seven days.

PAYMENTS

Difficult to find 'quick path forward' for Argentina, says IMF

26-09-2019 15:21 IMF officials refused to say Thursday when it will disburse last US$5.4 billion of loan to Argentina that was originally planned for mid-September, as reports suggest World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank may also delay payments.

NEW LEADERSHIP

Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva chosen to be IMF's new leader

25-09-2019 17:59 Georgieva, a top official at the World Bank, was chosen by the IMF’s executive board on Wednesday to become the body's new managing director. She succeeds Christine Lagarde.

FINANCIAL POLICY

Brazilian Central Bank cuts interest rate to record low

19-09-2019 16:30 Monetary authority slashes interest rates to a record low 5.5% for the second time in less than two months, as Latin America's biggest economy expresses concerns over "more intense slowdown in the global economy."

BLOOMBERG

Central Bank raises rate floor to 78% as prices soar

18-09-2019 21:27 The rate floor will lower to 68% for all of October, while Central Bank officials project that Argentina’s monetary base will grow at a monthly rate of 2.5% in September and October.

BLOOMBERG

With controls in place, Central Bank cuts 85% rate, buys dollars

18-09-2019 14:08 Institution's move to choke off dollars hands peso some breathing room, with Central Bank buying dollars for first time in seven months.

FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Low-profile flow of funds: Inter-American Development Bank and Argentina

14-09-2019 00:41 The world’s biggest regional development bank, the BID is unusually homogenous for an international organisation with only four official languages and four presidents over its six decades.

by Michael Soltys

EX-CENTRAL BANK CHIEF

Sturzenegger re-emerges with criticism of government’s fiscal policy

14-09-2019 00:35 Former Central Bank governor publishes analysis of fiscal policy under Macri administration.

by Michael Soltys

BLOOMBERG

Bailed-out nations to finally get one of their own at top of IMF

12-09-2019 14:44 Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva, a champion of anti-poverty measures, will take over the IMF this fall upon the departure of Christine Lagarde.

Bloomberg

Central Bank clamps down on loophole to gain from capital controls

12-09-2019 08:52 The monetary authority adds measures to curb trades aimed at profiting from capital controls.

FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Steady as it goes: The World Bank and Argentina

07-09-2019 01:44 The World Bank lent some US$8 billion in over 50 credits to both the tail end of the 1976-1983 military dictatorship and the elected Raúl Alfonsín Radical government.

by Michael Soltys

REVISED FORECASTS

Local economists warn of deeper slump as crisis continues

07-09-2019 01:24 GDP predicted to contract by 2.5% this year, with banks also revising down forecasts for 2020.

argentina

What we learned this week: September 1 to 6

07-09-2019 01:16 Key stories from the last seven days.

Election 2019

Is this you, Macri?

07-09-2019 01:01 It is imperative to understand the founding principles of Macrinomics, in order to realistically assess its relative merits and failures.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Campaign watch

Argentina becomes a bundle of nerves

07-09-2019 00:55 At the end of the line the country has always faced the same trauma: more inflation, devaluation, recession and, eventually, default.

by Marcelo J. Garcia

EXPLAINER

From Argentina to China and India: a global guide to capital controls

04-09-2019 12:34 Argentina may have spooked investors with its imposition of capital controls over the weekend, but it’s scarcely alone among emerging markets in using them to stop money flying out in times of stress.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

New Central Bank survey predicts 55% inflation in 2019

04-09-2019 09:46 GDP anticipated to contract by 2.5% this year, survey of economists and consultancy firms reveals.

BLOOMBERG

Vulture funds circle Argentina, waiting for right time to buy

03-09-2019 17:06 Less than five years after settling with hold-out creditors from a record default in 2001, Argentina is again looking like a ripe target for funds that specialise in wringing value out of distressed assets.

REPORTS

Government plans aggressive defence of peso, starting Monday

31-08-2019 19:46 In May 2018, the Central Bank was able to temporarily halt the peso’s collapse by offering to buy US$5 billion, a huge amount in Argentina’s thin currency market. Monday’s measures may echo that plan, local reports suggest.