MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Kirchner told banks to “make cheap loans and mortgages” in 2007 presidential campaign

The late former president Nestor Kirchner

The Spanish newspaper El Pais published new Wikileaks cables of the US embassy which mention the relationship between Argentina’s Kirchners ruling couple and the banks especially during the period previous to the presidential election of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007).

According to the February 2008 cables, the main banks had accepted to issue small enterprise and mortgage loans to boost the campaign of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

“The government just wanted the headlines and would never check to see if the loans were issued,” stated the cable about what the ex President of the Banco Hipotecario bank, Clarisa Lifsic, reported former US ambassador Anthony Wayne.

“The notification of the loans issued was given to the ambassador after a number of encounters with bankers, businessmen and analysts,” El País stated.

The cable also states that Ms Lifsic affirmed that the government “has no long-term vision or plan about generating a mortgage market.”

Meanwhile, the head of the Argentine-owned private banks association (ADEBA), Jorge Brito, told the ambassador that the government had urged “private banks to make loans at low interest rates, but can a bank make a five year loan at 7% if it has to give 10% to get 60 day deposits”.

Deceased president Nestor Kirchner took office in 2003 and in 2007 has his wife elected to succeed him. Her four year mandate ends next December.