02/20/2020 - 10:40
- Clarín.com
- Economy
After the declaration of the International Monetary Fund that the Argentine debt "is not sustainable", and the agency's request to private creditors to make "an appreciable contribution" in the negotiation with the country, the president of the Central Bank, Miguel Pesce, warned Thursday that it is still "possible" for a default to occur, although he clarified that he sees "unlikely."
“ It is possible, I assign little chance, but it is possible . We are in a negotiation, the Government is going to make an offer, and that offer can be accepted or rejected. But the Government will not accept any kind of proposal that is not sustainable in the short and long term, ”he said.
In statements to radio The Network , the official explained that the objective is "to have a debt profile that can be paid and that is what the Government is working on and that is the offer that is going to be made to the creditors."
“It will make a consistent offer and there is a high probability that the creditors will accept it, but it does not depend on the Government, but on the will of third parties. Any probability of rejection of the offer exists. Hopefully it won't happen, ”he stressed.
Pesce also said that both the statements of the executive director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, and the mission of the agency that was in Buenos Aires “show a change in the body that is encouraging, of understanding the situation of the country and of the idiosyncrasy of our economy ”, and said it is“ optimistic ”.
On Wednesday, the IMF called on Argentina to restructure the debt with private investors (bondholders) and assessed that if the country manages to take that step, the possibility of falling into default would decrease thus stabilizing its financial situation.
“ The IMF staff assesses that Argentina's debt is not sustainable, ” was the statement that the IMF technical team made about Argentina. "Consequently, a definitive debt operation is required that generates an appreciable contribution from private creditors, to help restore debt sustainability with a high probability," he added.
On the other hand, Pesce explained that the cap on interest rates on credit cards, "which were at superlative levels," attempts to "align interest rates with BCRA expectations regarding the evolution of inflation and needs. of financing for production and consumption ”.
"There is a problem of expectation of the banks; and that is why the regulator has to act . Two months ago we assumed and that the economic program changed: we are not satisfied with what happened with the credit system, but in general the banks do not they are today having the dynamics that we would like to finance production and consumption, "he added.
Finally, he referred to the exchange rate, which he described as "reasonable for competitiveness and the needs we have for exports," and stated that there is " no complaint regarding the exchange rate delay."
"If there were no exchange regulations, the demand for foreign exchange would be much higher and the exchange rate would be higher and wages would be lower and we would have poorer in Argentina," he closed.
JPE