In times of pressure on the exchange gap and brake on the purchase of dollars from the Central Bank (BCRA)the monetary authority decided to make a wink to the countryside in an attempt to speed up foreign exchange settlement.
He BCRA announced that will not renew the rule that imposes an interest rate surcharge for credit in pesos to producers who retain more than 5% of the soybeans, a measure that expires at the end of the month. It was a request from the sector that the Liaison Table made public today through a statement.
“The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) ordered no renew the circular that imposes a minimum in the bank financing rate that producers can access when they maintain a soybean stock greater than 5% of its production. The rule, promulgated in September 2022, expires on the 30th of this month and sets a floor equivalent to 120% of the Monetary Policy rate,” said the entity chaired by Santiago Bausili in a statement.
In this way, the economic team gives a nod to the sector at a time when it needs the liquidation to accelerate, since the Central was barely able to buy US$115 million so far in June, despite being in the middle of the thick harvest. The slowdown in the accumulation of reserves is one of the factors behind the renewed pressure on the dollar.
Dollar: will currency settlement accelerate?
The decision responds to a specific claim. The Liaison Board had requested it through a statement in which he expressed: “The countryside needs gestures and, in this case, The non-continuity of the rule would be an incentive, which must be ratified with the total removal of withholdings -always within a reasonable framework- and the elimination of the Country and Check taxes.”
With everything, It is uncertain the specific impact that it will have as an isolated measure on the settlement of foreign currencies. It happens that, immediately, The cost for producers of financing in pesos will be lower to meet your expenses without the need to part with grains. It remains to be seen what the result of the conversations between officials and the sector is and if it is complemented by other measures.
“A step towards the normalization of the financial system”
“This decision constitutes one more step on the path outlined by the BCRA with a view to normalizing the functioning of the financial system and promote domestic credit to the productive private sector,” said the monetary authority.
And he added: “This regulatory adaptation complements other measures such as Communication “A” 8043 of June 13, which made credit rules more flexible for the group of entities that qualify as Large Exporting Companies (GEE). On that occasion, restrictions on financing in foreign currency were eliminatedalong with other flexible actions”.
“As The BCRA advances in the recovery of macroeconomic stabilityits authorities will continue to evaluate options to make distorting and discriminatory regulations more flexible, in order to facilitate the redirection of bank credit from the public sector to the productive private sector,” he concluded.
Source: Ambito
