News Brief No. 95/10

News Brief: IMF Management and Argentina Agree on Program for 1995

March 23, 1995

Michel Camdessus, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, announced today that the IMF management has received the letter of intent from the Argentine authorities detailing the country's economic program for 1995. The program will be submitted for approval to the IMF's Executive Board in the first week of April and management will recommend that it be supported by about $2.8 billion from the IMF.

"This is a strong and coherent program for 1995 that should bolster confidence in Argentina's ability to sustain its remarkable economic achievements of recent years. The significant strengthening of public finances, the planned restructuring of the financial system, including the privatization of the provincial banks, and the structural reforms to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of the economy under the program should ensure the viability of Argentina's currency board arrangement," Camdessus said.

"I will propose to the Executive Board a fourth-year extension and augmentation of the current extended arrangement by about $2.4 billion. I will also propose that, in addition to the $420 million remaining to be disbursed under the existing arrangement, $1.2 billion be made available immediately following the Board's action," Camdessus added.

"I am pleased to note that the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank will also provide significant financial resources to support the restructuring of the financial system under the program," Camdessus said.