Caputo: “Credit will be the engine of reactivation”
The Minister of Finance gave the closing speech of the 34th Annual Congress of the Argentine Institute of Finance Executives.
June 7, 2017
The Minister of Finance, Luis Caputo, closed this Wednesday the 34th Annual Congress of the Argentine Institute of Finance Executives carried out at the Sheraton Hotel in Buenos Aires between June 6 and 7.
Within this framework, Caputo said: “Our goal is fiscal balance and we have decided to achieve it gradually considering social responsibility (we have a 30% of the population beneath the poverty line) and because we have the lowest nominal rates for financing of our history”.
Likewise, the Finance Minister highlighted: “Since we took office, we have issued debt 4 times. 3 of said issues were to cancel the previous one. This means that we are replacing said debt for a much lower coupon”. Mr. Minister added: “The level of debt over product will continue to be the lowest of the region once the fiscal balance goal is achieved”.
In addition, Caputo talked about the policies to promote credit carried out by the Ministry of Finance: “Today the private sector’s debt in Argentina is of only 15 GDP points, among other elements because credit conditions are not good, we have to take care of that”, and he added: “Longer terms and lower rates foster the creation of more jobs and the economy’s growth”.
In that sense, Mr. Minister said: “Through the three official banks we are managing the 30-year mortgage credits; it is a concrete benefit of the measures we have taken as a Government”. Also, Caputo added: “Credit will be the engine of reactivation”.
In addition, the Finance Minister said that the Ministry of Finance is working “to improve the capital market conditions, financing opportunities for SMEs and financial inclusion to fight informality”.
Regarding financing for the infrastructure plan of the National Government, Mr. Minister explained: “In addition to the bilateral agreements, we are also tackling public-private associations, which is an alternative that has proven to succeed in the rest of the region”.
Finally, the Minister of Finance said: “We have the best weather conditions for renewable energy, the second most important shale gas reserve of the world, a huge human resource and a country of entrepreneurs”, and he added: “We have the natural and the human resources to hold once a more a privileged position within global economies and we are here to deal with it”.
The Argentine Institute of Finance Executives, founded in 1967, is a nonprofit professional association comprised by executives, directors and managers of companies and institutions from the areas of finance, administration, planning, management control, treasury, accountancy and trade.