Argentina strikes $4.6bn debt deal with ‘vultures’ to end 15-year dispute

Argentina has struck a $4.6bn (£3.3bn) deal with creditors to end a bitter 15-year battle over its debt and pave the way for its status as a financial pariah to end. The country has agreed to settle all claims with payment to NML Capital, Aurelius Capital Management and two other hedge fund creditors holding debt that has it defaulted on, according to a court-appointed mediator. It must be paid in cash by 14 April, the mediator said. The conflict dates back to 2001, when Argentina defaulted on nearly $100bn (£72bn) in debt.

[It is an] important step towards allowing Argentina to return to financial markets and restore its financial position.

International Monetary Fund

The deal follows a pledge by new president, Mauricio Macri, who took office in December, to reverse his predecessor Cristina Kirchner’s refusal to bargain with what she called “vulture” funds. The announcement came ahead of a court hearing in New York where an injunction effectively blocking Argentina’s access to new loans while the dispute lingered was expected to be lifted – another step in the financial rehabilitation of Latin America’s third biggest economy. Nearly all the country’s creditors eventually accepted to write off 70% of their bonds in a restructuring that was meant to allow the country to get back on its feet. Elliott Management, a New York hedge fund which bought up debt after the default, sued together with Aurelius for full payment on the face value of the bonds.

Argentina debt