Argentina’s banks hit by bolt from the blue

They are used to dealing with a crisis, but they can usually see one coming. Does the shock of the IMF bailout leave local firms vulnerable?

This crisis is much smaller than previous ones, but it was largely unexpected, so that’s why we are feeling this one in such a very full-on way,” says Nerio Peitiado, chief operating officer of Banco Supervielle in Buenos Aires.

“This came from nowhere,” echoes Banco Galicia’s chairman, Sergio Grinenco. “It was a sudden and unexpected stop that we weren’t expecting. Argentina has been through worse crises, but this time the challenge isn’t so much the stress itself but rather the fact it came with almost no warning.