Argentine banks face competition from all sides

The Peronist playbook is back in force: Argentina’s monetization of fiscal deficits relies on the banking system buying central bank and government securities. This time around the movie has a new subplot: credit growth in both the corporate and retail sectors is increasingly taking place outside the traditional banking sector.

When Central Térmica Ensenada de Barragán, a joint venture between Pampa Energía and YPF, wanted to raise capital to finance its 567-megawatt natural gas power plant, it didn’t turn to the Argentine banks. And it couldn’t tap the international markets either.

Instead, the company attracted orders of $170 million for a $96 million three-year dollar-linked zero coupon note in the domestic market. That was partly thanks to this being buoyed by a new source of liquidity: corporate treasuries.

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