Argentina legal risks loom as new payment blocked

摘要

Argentina's bondholders faced more legal hurdles last week, as US court orders forced international clearing houses to block coupon payments on some Argentine-law bonds, paving the way for the country's default to spread further. Last Tuesday, Argentina was due to pay around US$16m of interest on Par bonds it issued under local law as part of its 2005 and 2010 restructurings. A spokeswoman for the economy ministry said the payment was processed as scheduled, but Clearstream and Euroclear had already informed international holders of the bonds that they would receive no payment, pursuant to the US court rulings.