Investment funds suing over Argentina's 2002 debt default have asked a US court to order the country to post a security deposit of at least 250 million dollars by December 10, while an appeal of a lower court's order is pending.
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner ratified on Wednesday that Argentina will continue to pay all its financial obligations and described as “absolutely unfair” the ruling from Judge Thomas Griesa who favoured the hedge funds to the detriment of 93% of bondholders who joined the 2005 and 2010 debt swaps.
A US appeals court on Wednesday granted an emergency stay order that gives Argentina more time to argue against making a 1.33 billion dollars payment to investors who rejected two debt restructurings in the nation's 2002 sovereign debt default.
Fitch Ratings agency announced on Tuesday it has downgraded Argentina's long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating from B to CC, with a negative outlook, as it sees a probable default if the country misses its payment to holdout investors.
Economy Minister Hernan Lorenzino described the appeal presented on Monday by Argentina against the ruling of New York Judge Thomas Griesa as “very forceful”, and pointed out that if the magistrate had proposed to treat hedge funds demands under the terms of the 2010 debt-swap, the Argentine congress might then address the option.
Investors holding 1 billion dollars worth of restructured Argentine debt said they also appealed to US District Judge Thomas Griesa’s ruling that they fear would trigger another default and prevent them from being paid principal and interest due on their bonds next month.
Argentina’s Ambassador to the United States, Jorge Argüello, assured on Monday that “Argentina will not pay the price for the financial irrationality of the North, and under no circumstances will tolerate the vulture funds’ blackmailing.”
The Argentine government will appeal on Monday the New York federal court ruling from Thomas Griesa which orders the country to pay 1.3billion dollars to the investment funds which held out from the (2005 and 2010) restructuring of the 2002 defaulted sovereign debt.
Argentine Economy Minister Hernán Lorenzino assured during a press conference on Thursday that paying off the vulture funds is illegal, and said that the ruling by US District Judge Thomas Griesa against Argentina is unfair.
“The only possibility” Argentina contemplates regarding its debt is “to honour all payments” of creditors that entered debt swaps after the sovereign default of 2001, said Economy minister Hernan Lorenzino who underlined that Argentina “cannot and will not enter in default”.