News of bank

Argentina hikes rates after prices surge past expectations

12-11-2020 23:56 Central Bank hikes interest rates after October inflation report showed consumer prices surged at the fastest pace this year.

Bloomberg

Argentina goes all-in to cut record gap with parallel peso

12-11-2020 16:42 Argentina is resorting to all necessary means to reduce the gap between its official and parallel exchange rates.

FINANCIAL TURMOIL

Economy Ministry to halt Central Bank advances until end of 2020

03-11-2020 12:53 Economy Ministry says it will not ask the Central Bank for temporary advances of cash in November and December and would target local capital markets for financing instead.

FINANCIAL TURMOIL

Guzmán: 'There will be no devaluation'

24-10-2020 05:44 Economy minister says currency will depreciate ‘hand-in-hand with inflation,’ as blue dollar soars to close at record high of 195 pesos per greenback.

IN FOCUS

Economy Ministry takes steps to relieve pressure on currency markets

21-10-2020 18:59 Economy Ministry unveils new measures designed to reduce the pressures on volatile currency markets and ward off devaluation.

Bloomberg

Argentina is slowly shifting its monetary policy instrument

21-10-2020 18:27 Argentina is changing its monetary policy, Bloomberg reports, uniting two different benchmark rates of interest in a bid to reduce the cost of eliminating excess peso liquidity on the market.

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Macri rides protest wave

17-10-2020 09:28 Protesting is a right. Trying to figure out the significance of a specific protest is another matter.

by Martín Gambarotta

FINANCIAL TURBULENCE

Blue dollar soars again to close week at 178 pesos

17-10-2020 08:30 Dolár blue has risen by 11 pesos in past week alone, closing week at record high amid continued financial uncertainty.

Financial turmoil

Fernández: Currency market is messy, it needs order

11-10-2020 17:22 In the wide-ranging interview with El Cohete a la Luna, president says Argentina's currency market is messy and must be “ordered.”

FINANCE

Analysts keep eye on reserves as uncertainty pushes blue dollar to 160

10-10-2020 10:05 Central Bank buys dollars for first time since mid-September, as uncertainty pushes blue dollar sky-high.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina’s currency woes show no sign of easing

10-10-2020 08:31 Argentina’s hodge podge exchange rate regime is running out of steam.

monetary policy

Central Bank moves to unify interest rates

09-10-2020 11:27 Central Bank is taking steps to tighten its monetary policy and encourage banks to buy local peso assets.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Control of Venezuelan gold held in London cast into doubt

05-10-2020 17:07 British court throws in question who controls nearly US$2 billion in Venezuelan gold stowed in a London bank vault amid a power struggle between President Nicolás Maduro and US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina’s new obsession is watching foreign reserves evaporate

05-10-2020 16:14 At brokerages and banks, the calls come in every day with the same question: How many dollars does the Central Bank actually have?

Bloomberg

Government to devalue peso faster while it fights reserves drop

01-10-2020 23:09 The Central Bank will end a policy of “uniform devaluation” and allow greater volatility, according to a statement sent by the institution led by Miguel Pesce after hours Thursday.

Bloomberg

Government mulls temporary cut on some crop export taxes

29-09-2020 17:16 Government weighing temporary reduction on some export taxes to boost dollar inflows, Bloomberg reports.

FINANCIAL TURBULENCE

Argentines are starting to withdraw dollar savings from banks

26-09-2020 09:54 Data suggests savers are now choosing to hold the physical dollars versus keeping them at the bank, on concerns that more severe restrictions could be on the way.

BLOOMBERG

Argentines are finding it almost impossible to purchase dollars

21-09-2020 19:28 Savers are finding it impossible to buy dollars through official channels as banks struggle to adjust to rule changes that tightened restrictions.

FORMER PRESIDENT RE-EMERGES

Why Macri re-appeared and broke his silence

19-09-2020 10:13 Former president returns to prominence with scathing La Nación column. Sources close to the PRO leader describe his view of Cristina, Alberto and the opposition coalition.

by Ezequiel Spillman

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Dollar blues

19-09-2020 09:51 Argentina’s exasperating affair with the dollar is a recurring issue.

by Martín Gambarotta

CAPITAL CONTROLS

Fernandez defends new currency controls as blue dollar soars

19-09-2020 08:25 Economists question wisdom of new Central Bank measures, which hit small savers as well as companies. Blue dollar closes week at more than 140 per greenback.

Bloomberg

Pesce, Guzmán split over curbs on dollar purchases

17-09-2020 16:19 Argentina's economic team split on latest crackdown, as well as how long new rules should remain in place.

BLOOMBERG

YPF leads Argentina corporate bond rout on new forex limits

16-09-2020 23:27 Corporate bonds from Argentina posted their biggest decline in six months on Wednesday as a new round of capital controls and government restrictions on access to dollars threatened to provoke a wave of defaults.

CURRENCY CONTROLS

Central Bank tightens currency controls as peso weakens

16-09-2020 10:29 Central Bank tightens conditions for the purchase of foreign currency, to prevent hoarding, preserve reserves and discourage demand for US dollars.

IDB Presidency

New IDB boss Claver-Carone says he'll work for all of Latin America

15-09-2020 12:40 Mauricio Claver-Carone has been voted the new president of the Inter-American Development bank, making him the first non-Latin American head of the institution.

inter-american development bank

Trump advisor elected new head of Inter-American Development Bank

13-09-2020 08:48 Mauricio Claver-Carone elected president of Inter-American Development Bank in vote, ending decades of Latin American leadership at institution.

inter-american development bank

Trump's candidate inches closer to victory in race to lead IDB

10-09-2020 18:35 Mauricio Claver-Carone is inching closer to becoming head of the Inter-American Development Bank, after Mexico decided to pass up a potential boycott of Saturday’s vote.

inter-american development bank

European leaders ask EU to support postponement of IDB vote

08-09-2020 17:13 Three European leaders enter debate. Vote to elect the next president of the Inter-American Development Bank is currently scheduled to take place by remote session on September 12.

IDB vote

United States 'confident' it has votes to win IDB presidency

03-09-2020 13:30 United States' controversial nomination for the Inter-American Development Bank, Mauricio Claver-Carone, has the support from all 'sub-regions' according to US official.

Bloomberg

Ex-Costa Rica president Laura Chinchilla pitches IDB top job candidacy

03-09-2020 11:56 Laura Chinchilla, former president of Costa Rica, is considered a long-shot in the race to head the Inter-American Development Bank, but is positioning herself as a moderate alternative to US President Donald Trump's nomination, Mauricio Claver-Carone.

inter-american development bank

Latin American leaders accuse Trump of "imposing" his IDB candidate

27-08-2020 18:21 Leaders from Latin America and Spain have accused Donald Trump of seeking to "impose" his candidate to head the Inter-American Development.

inter-american development bank

Trump’s pick for IDB top job says he wants to counter China's influence

27-08-2020 02:36 Mauricio Claver-Carone said the Washington-based bank could supplant Beijing as a go-to lender across the region at a time when Xi Jinping’s administration is pulling back.

ECONOMIC POLICY

Central Bank optimistic over post-bond swap future

25-08-2020 19:20 Central Bank Governor Miguel Ángel Pesce says closure of the debt swap deal would relieve pressures on exchange markets and improve economic expectations.

SINO-ARGENTINE RELATIONS

Argentina’s ties with China deepen under Fernández

22-08-2020 08:27 Peronist leader leads charge to develop ties with Asian giant, which is now Argentina’s largest trading partner. Trip to Shanghai pencilled in for early November, with business, the pandemic and pork topping the agenda.

by Juan Luis González

inter-american development bank

Siding with Trump, 17 nations reject delay to vote on IDB chief

18-08-2020 23:29 Seventeen nations – including Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia – release letter rejecting attempts to delay vote on next chief of Inter-American Development Bank, complicating Argentina's hopes for their own candidate.

Currency controls

Fernández hints at changes to US$200 greenback purchase quota

16-08-2020 08:01 Peronist leader says Argentina is facing high demand "from small savers," with knock-on effect for country reserves. Central Bank officials, however, say no changes are planned.

INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Trump's pick for IDB top job slams Argentina's 'obstruction'

15-08-2020 10:14 Claver-Carone portrays himself as a breath of fresh air for an organisation that has had just four chiefs in six decades, but his eventual presidency would also mean breaking a non-written tradition where a Latin American heads this bank.

DIPLOMACY

Trump's pick for top IDB job slams Argentina's 'obstruction'

12-08-2020 16:42 Mauricio Claver-Carone, US President Donald Trump's candidate to head the Inter-American Development Bank, claims he has the backing of the majority of Latin American countries and accuses Argentina of trying to "obstruct" his election.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Latin America infrastructure woes add to inequality

10-08-2020 09:25 The poorest workers and households in the region shoulder an inequitable share of the cost of ramshackle transportation, dirty water, serial power outages and patchy communications. Throw in the coronavirus pandemic, and the plight of those at the bottom is even more dire.

by Mac Margolis

BLOOMBERG

Trump hits wall with bid to place ally at Inter-American Development Bank

09-08-2020 08:08 Mexico wants to delay election of a new chief for the Inter-American Development Bank, amid controversy over US President Donald Trump’s push to have a close ally at the helm of the institution.

EDITORIAL

Debt deal – more relief than belief

08-08-2020 09:22 The quality of this haircut falling on interest rates way above recent levels rather than capital deserves praise, as does abandonment of the absurd three-year grace period exempting this administration from any payment.

CENTRAL BANK

Central Bank renews currency swap deal with China for another three years

07-08-2020 10:37 Argentina and China formally sign agreement to renew existing swap line worth 130 billion yuan (US$18.7 billion).

Bloomberg

Gold rally gives Argentina’s meagre reserves an unexpected boost

02-08-2020 18:40 After losing US$4 billion from its net reserves since the beginning of the year amid political and economic volatility, an unusually large holding in gold has given Argentina’s Central bank balance sheet a boost.

PRINTING MONEY

Government imports bank notes to meet thirst for cash

24-07-2020 02:15 The government is rushing to import bank notes as the national mint struggles to keep pace with soaring Central Bank issuance and inflation of more than 40%.

G20 MEET

Argentina asks for help as Saudi hosts G20 virtual talks on virus recovery, debt crisis

18-07-2020 07:00 Foreign Minister Felipe Solá says he will urge the G20 to set up a global "solidarity-based fund" to address the increase in poverty in virus-battered countries.

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Pandemic to deliver 'unprecedented' blow to tourism in Latin America, Caribbean

02-07-2020 03:21 Coronavirus pandemic to deliver "unprecedented blow" to tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Development Bank warns.

Videoconference

Latin American leaders ask IMF, IDB, World Bank officials for support

25-06-2020 01:34 Presidents of nine Latin American nations ask International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank for support during virus crisis, including restructuring of debt.

MINISTRY POSITIONS

Taxation the only certainty beyond the end of life (and this column)

20-06-2020 11:11 Taxation dates from this country’s earliest days even if customs dominated revenue in colonial and 19th century Argentina, the root cause of the incredible centralisation persisting today.

by Michael Soltys

INTERAMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Trump expolits Latin America split to push adviser for IDB post

20-06-2020 10:54 US president taps Mauricio Claver-Carone for Inter-American Development Bank presidency, severely damaging President Alberto Fernández hopes for his adviser Gustavo Beliz’s candidacy.