Limited Parking for Blue Chip Swap Transactions

On November 26, 2020, the Argentine Securities and Exchange Commission (the “CNV” after its acronym in Spanish) issued General Resolution No. 871 which shortened the minimum holding period (or parking) of Blue Chip Swap transactions settled locally against dollars (i.e. against so-called Dólar MEP or dollars in the Argentine financial system) to two business days as of the date on which the securities are credited in Caja de Valores S.A. (as Central Securities Depository Agent), for both:

1. the sale of securities against foreign currency in the local market;

2. the sale securities, transferred to Argentina from foreign depository entities, against dollars in the local market.

Plus, it relaxed restrictions on the sale of assets with settlement in pesos by abrogating the previous 3-day minimum holding period for the sale of securities transferred from foreign depository entities against local currency.

Lastly, the CNV established that: (i) broker-dealers can once again enter into transactions as clients in foreign markets without any restrictions to the local negotiation of transactions settled in foreign currency delivered outside of Argentina (Dólar Cable); and (ii) as an exception and for a limited time, these agents must be net offerors of dollar-denominated sovereign bonds when trading them against pesos, and net bidders of those assets when trading them against foreign currency on a daily basis. In a press release, the CNV claimed the purpose of these measures is to provide stability to the price of dollar-denominated securities payable in the currency issued by Argentina in accordance with local law.