Argentina’s Bond Buyback Plan Sets Off Moody’s Default Alarm
- Moody’s says buyback is tantamount to a ‘distressed exchange’
- Some investors dubious buyback warrants default classification
Signs with prices for meat outside a store in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Photographer: Erica Canepa/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Argentina’s plan to repurchase $1 billion of overseas bonds meets the definition for a default, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
The credit assessor sees the nation’s strategy of buying back short-dated dollar bonds — primarily those due in 2029 and 2030 — through direct market purchases as tantamount to a “distressed exchange and hence a default under our definition,” Moody’s analysts including Jaime Reusche wrote in a note.