The Government has begun the final stage of the process of cleaning up the BCRA’s balance sheet by exchanging LEFI for debt securities adjusted by CER, clearing future maturities. What are the characteristics of this new instrument?
The LEFI (Liquidity Fiscal Letter) finally debuted. The Government made it official this Thursday through Joint Resolution 40/2024 published in the Official Gazette, exchange of LEFI for debt instruments who has in his power the Central bank. In this way, the change of monetary regime established by the Ministry of Economy, seeking to end one of the key considerations for exiting the exchange rate trap.
In this context, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Treasury issued the LEFI for a one-year term, for a nominal amount in pesos of $20 billion, which will capitalize the monetary policy rate reported by the Central Bank.
In turn, the exchange of the LEFI that is issued for “Public Debt instruments in the BCRA portfolio”, whose maturities are in 2024 and 2025, clearing the maturity profile that the Ministry of Economy has to carry out.
The resolution clarifies that this exchange must be carried out at the market prices of the Eligible Securities and the technical value of the Liquidity Letter (LeFi), both calculated as of the settlement date.
The objective, according to the document, is “to clean up the balance sheet of the BCRA, by recovering the level of international reserves and a solution to the dynamics of its remunerated liabilities.”
The idea of new monetary policy is to bring endogenous issuance to zero. This issuance is the one that is automatically generated by the mere fact of having to face the interests of the sterilization instruments (Leliqs at the time, Pases at present). Every month the BCRA had the commitment to pay the interests of these instruments. Within the framework of this process, the Government begins the process of eliminating puts.
LEFI: the characteristics of the issue
The issuance of a Fiscal Liquidity Letter (LEFI) with maturity on July 17, 2025 for a nominal value in pesos of $20 billion is hereby arranged.
- Release date: July 17, 2024.
- Expiration date: July 17, 2025.
- Currency of denomination, subscription and payment: pesos.
- Amortization: full at maturity.
- Interest: You will pay interest to the annual nominal monetary policy rate reported by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) with daily capitalization until the maturity of the instrument and will be payable at the maturity of the LeFi. At each change in the annual nominal monetary policy rate, the interest will be capitalized and considered as new capital.
- Negotiation: It will be negotiable only between the BCRA and financial institutions.
- Placement: through exchange operations with the BCRA in accordance with the provisions of decrees 602 of July 10, 2024 (DNU-2024-602-APN-PTE), and 611 of July 11, 2024 (DECTO-2024-611-APN-PTE), and article 2 of this regulation.
- Calculation agent: The BCRA will be the agent for calculating capitalization, who will report at the beginning and at each change in the annual nominal monetary policy rate the new rate and the capitalization up to that date to the Public Debt Administration Directorate dependent on the National Public Credit Office of the Finance Secretariat of this ministry, for its records.
- Tax exemptions: will enjoy all tax exemptions provided for in the laws and regulations in force on the matter.
- Financial Services Attention: Payments will be made through the BCRA by means of transfers of funds into the respective cash accounts held by the account holders registered with said institution.
Source: Ambito
