Argentina Talks Said Hindered on Lack of Government Backing

The Argentine government’s unwillingness to assure payment to investors seeking to buy the country’s defaulted bonds is slowing talks to resolve the dispute, according to a person briefed on the discussions.

A group of international banks, including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., have participated in talks with Argentine investors to buy defaulted bonds from holdouts led by Elliott Management Corp. A stumbling block in reaching a deal is there’s no guarantee from the government it will repay them once a bond clause restricting better restructuring terms expires at the end of the year, according to the person, who asked not be identified because the talks are private.