El Cronista They will await the final verdict of the court before activating the reopening of the swap

El Cronista

They will await the final verdict of the court before activating the reopening of the swap

 

Thursday, November 29, 2012

 

Economy Minister Hernán Lorenzino said yesterday that a possible reopening of the debt swap would not happen “while there is no decision” from the Court of Appeals of New York on the lawsuits by the holdouts against Argentina.  “We are waiting for the decision from the Court (of Appeals).  While there is no decision on that, we’ll have nothing to add to what we have said in these recent days,” argued Lorenzino, in a press conference at the Palacio de Hacienda.

 

For her part, President Cristina Fernandez emphasized that Argentina has “good will” and “will honor” its payment commitments for public debt during her speech a the annual congress of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA).  The president said “they want to punish” Argentina because “we are building a counter-model from the world where financial capital and its derivatives have become masters and lords.”

 

Lorenzino yesterday in a radio interview had hinted at the possibility of Argentina being able to suspend the “lock law” in case the Court of Appeals considered the chance of an accord with the holdouts in similar conditions to the swap of 2010.  The minister said that “a similar proposal” to the 2010 swap “would be in line with the legal precedents of our country and would be possible to be debated in Congress.”  Consequently, the position that the minister reveals that the country will not act until it has a favorable signal from the Court of Appeals in New York.

 

Meanwhile, with the stay issued yesterday by the Court of Appeals, Argentina gains time and this could allow it to rearm its legal strategy.  First, it allows it to make the December 15 payment on the GDP coupon for US$3.3 billion without entering the risk of attachment nor a default.