CENTRAL BANK OF ARGENTINA: "COMMUNICATION "A" 6942 - OPERATION OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC"

03.20.20

Hernán Camarero - Eduardo Bellocq

Today the Central Bank of Argentina (“CBA”) issued Communication “A” 6942 (“Comm 6942”) that set forth the rules that will govern the operation of the financial systems until March 31, 2020 inclusive, as a consequence of the sanitary  emergency declared by the Government due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The measures are as follow:

(i) Financial and Exchange institutions shall not open their branches to the public.

(ii) Financial institutions must continue rendering the services they usually provide in a remote way y take all necessary measures to assure the sufficient supply of funds to ATMs (including human resources) and the continuity of the operations related to cash delivery in the extra-bank points of extraction. The Central Bank of Argentina (“CBA”) shall guarantee the supply of cash for this purposes.

(iii) Deadlines of financing transactions of financial institutions occurring between March 20 and 31 inclusive shall be put off to April 1st, 2020.

(iv) Between March 20 and 31st inclusive there shall not be electronic clearing of checks. This term shall not be considered for purposes of the 30-days terms to present checks for collection.

(v) Financial and Exchange institutions may operate amongst them and with their clients in the foreign exchange market remotely.

(vi) CBA shall guarantee operations through SIOPEL of wholesale foreign Exchange transactions and of liquidity notes (LELIQs) bids on March 25 and 26.

(vii) Electronic Compensation Chambers, Electronic Payment Means (MEP), ATMs and cash electronic transfers networks, credit and debit cards management companies, purchasers and processors of electronic payments means, payment services providers, as well as their related providers and all market infraestructure necesssary to the normal provision of financial institutions’ services and payment systems shall remain operational.

(viii) Operations in a remote way in stock exchanges and capital markets authorized by the National Securities and Exchange Commission (“CNV”), Caja de Valores S.A. (securities’ depository company) CNV’s registered capital markets’ agents are allowed.