The IMFC also comments on Argentina and prompts a reaction - the telenovela continues

in the same 24 september press conference noted in the previous post, besides a little jab at the u.s., the imfc had a few words for argentina regarding the debt swap that was successful in bringing in 76% of the debtors but left the issue of the remaining bondholders unresolved...

MR. de RATO: [T]he commitment of the Argentine government regarding its debt was part of the program that was approved in March of 2004. The debt effort was completed in March of 2005, with a substantial amount of creditors joining the proposal, but also a part that is not small of holdouts. The position of the Fund since then has been clearly that allow Argentina to move forward but, at the same time, it needed to have a strategy for those holdouts, and that is, of course, something that the Argentine government would have to propose.

these comments followed those of anoop singh, director of the imf's western hemisphere department from the day before (see my earlier post)...

Argentina has been growing strongly. I think it is fair to say that the speed and the extent of Argentina's recovery has surprised most people. And that, of course, is very good news.

all well and good...? not if you read this from today's buenos aires herald...

According to a presentation to an IMF committee in Washington, "the Argentine government aspires to attain Fund financial support for its economic programme and expects to formulate a forward-looking strategy to address the issue of the holdouts within the context of a Fund programme."

[...]

Partial debt rollover, strategy for holdouts on Argentine and IMF wish lists — but not so fast. Even as Argentina told the IMF yesterday that it wanted to clinch a new financial accord and develop a plan for dealing with holdouts from its debt restructuring programme, Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernández said relations with the Fund had "never been so difficult as they are now."

i've often characterized argentina's relationship with the imf as an on-going telenovela... looks like we have quite a few episodes to go...

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