The board of directors of the Central Bank advanced this Thursday in a new flexibility of the exchange rate. The measure will free the access to the official dollar for companies to pay interest accrued from next year for financial debts maintained with their parent companies.
Specifically, based on the decision of the BCRAcompanies will be able to access the exchange market, without prior consent, “to cancel compensatory interest accrued as of January 1, 2025, for financial debts with their related companies,” reported the entity that presides. Santiago Bausili in a statement.
The measure was made official through the communication A 8161published this Thursday by the monetary authority. It has “repeal the BCRA’s prior compliance requirement provided for in point 3.5.6. of the ordered text on Foreign Affairs and Exchange for access to the exchange market for clients to pay compensatory interest when due that accrues as of January 1, 2025 on the original remaining value of financial debts with related counterparties abroad.
Likewise, the standard clarifies that the interest owed as of December 31 of this year or the punitive interest or other equivalents that accrue from the first day of 2025 will continue to be covered by the prior compliance requirement.
Stocks: another flexibility
In parallel, the BCRA issued the communication A 8160which introduces an additional flexibility of the stocks. the same authorizes access to the official exchange market (MLC) for the cancellation of debt issues in foreign currency issued by financial trusts with public offer in accordance with the provisions of the CNV, provided that the amount had been converted to pesos through the MLC at the time of its primary placement.
“This measure not only makes exchange regulation more flexible, but also seeks to promote the use of instruments that allow people to channel savings in dollars, in an environment of currency competition,” said the Central statement.
Exit from the stocks “in layers”
“The measures approved today by the BCRA Board of Directors are a new step in the process of normalization of exchange rate policy that began in December 2023 and that gradually advances in the elimination of restrictions,” said the monetary authority.
It happens that, as various officials stated, The Government’s decision is to continue the lifting of exchange control “in layers”. The definition is born from a reality: despite the large purchases of foreign currency in recent months, The BCRA continues with very negative net reserves. If Treasury deposits and Bopreal payments 12 months ahead are discounted, the red is close to US$8 billion. That is to say, today, the Central does not have enough support to face a total release of the restrictions.
This week, the minister Luis Caputo spoke of three conditions prior to the definitive lifting of the stocks: that inflation converges to the level of the devaluation rate, that the money market is completely balanced and that there are more reserves in the BCRA’s balance sheet, something that linked it to the negotiation with the IMF for a new program that includes additional debt (its expectation is that it will close in the first quarter of 2025).
The measures approved this Thursday seek address the second point, attack one of the problems of remaining stocks: that of financial debts in foreign currency that the companies maintain with their parent companies, whose payment was postponed due to exchange restrictions.
In fact, weeks ago, Bausili mentioned two sources of concern about the stocks that could put pressure on the official dollar in the event of the lifting of the stocks: that of the aforementioned private debts with related companies and that of the dividends defaults.
Although it is difficult to gauge the magnitude of both aspects due to a lack of updated data, in the middle of this year (last data available) The stock of financial debts with related companies was US$4,326 million higher than the level of 2022. Regarding profits and dividends, Sebastián Menescaldi pointed out that they could imply a potential outlay of US$6,941 million, although he highlighted that some US$1,200 million were channeled through Bopreal.
Source: Ambito
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