The Vice President of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, Vladimir Werning, reported on the current status of the country's exchange account. He emphasized that although there are restrictions that they aim to gradually eliminate, they face several challenges. One of the main challenges is to reduce the fiscal deficit, which he considers fundamental for the economic program. In this regard, he mentioned that significant progress has been made in one month and that they have observed a normalization in the banking system, which has allowed for greater liquidity and a good start to eliminating capital controls.
Werning highlighted that since last year, a process of remonetization in the Argentine economy has begun, due to the decrease in inflation and the increase in the demand for pesos by the population. He noted that banks have positively responded to this situation, realizing that lending to the private sector is more profitable than relying on state emissions. Additionally, he mentioned that in the last month, there has been an influx of 15 billion dollars from Argentines into the banking system, surpassing the figure of the capital amnesty during the previous administration.
Despite receiving unfavorable economic indicators at the outset, Werning emphasized the president's determination to face the situation. They managed to reduce inflation from monthly levels of 25% to 4%, although the economy experienced a severe recession from which it has begun to recover since mid-year. He pointed out that, despite the progress, they still had to deal with debts inherited from previous governments.
The Vice President of the BCRA acknowledged that there were doubts in the market about the effectiveness of the implemented economic measures. However, he assured that the policies carried out succeeded in stabilizing the exchange rate and normalizing capital flows. Although the elimination of restrictive controls on the outflow of dollars from the country is still pending.
In the context of a meeting of the International Institute of Finance in Washington, Werning stated that Argentina has room to adjust the interest rate and the exchange rate, indicating that future measures will be taken in that direction. He also mentioned the existence of a regime that relaxes exchange restrictions for investments over 200 million dollars.
Finally, Werning highlighted the country's intention to return to international financial markets once the pending tasks regarding economic stabilization are completed. Despite the present challenges, the Vice President of the Central Bank expressed confidence in the direction of the economic policies implemented so far.
