Caputo said that the agreement with the IMF is “very good” and that there is “a peak of optimism”

Caputo spoke with correspondents in Washington, including Clarion, within the framework of the Fund’s Spring Assembly that takes place in this capital. With the head of the Central Bank, Santiago Bausili at his side, he said that the Staff level agreement achieved, which must still be approved by the executive board, was “very good.”

When asked if there would be a waiver on the reservation issue, Caputo responded: “Nor a waiver is necessary. Bah, I think not. “We never talked about any waiver” and highlighted that there are a couple of “new objectives” for reserves, 3.5 billion dollars by June and 8 billion dollars accumulation by the end of the year.

Regarding the talk at JPMorgan, which brought together investment bankers, consultants and experts interested in Argentina, the minister said: “We explain to them what we are doing, why the optimism, why we are not going to the market now. It is not that there is an opportunity here and we are not taking advantage of it, it is that we have cheaper financing available. So, I tell them: nor I am going to go on the market with a higher rate when it is my responsibility and my duty to finance the country as cheaply as possible. If I can finance myself much cheaper than in the market, I will continue doing it.”

He said there were “other forms of financing.” “We have several other forms and some will be known. The thing is that we cannot say them as long as we do not have them closed. But they are cheaper than the market. Therefore, we did not miss any opportunity. We do not want to go out on the market and we should not because we have cheaper opportunities.”

At the JPMorgan meeting, which was held behind closed doors in a downtown hotel, Caputo spoke for just a few minutes, announced the agreement they had just signed and invited the audience to read it, sources who participated in the meeting told Clarín. The minister pointed out that the document demonstrated the “extraordinary relationship we have with the IMF at all levels, like the first day.” And that “the program will continue on its path.”

The audience, which filled the room, was seated at round tables and enjoyed a lunch of pepper sirloin with mash.

Then there was a presentation by the Secretary of Economic Policy, José Luis Daza, who said that they were facing “the greatest economic transformation that is happening in the world”. And he said that the economic program had entered a “optimal point.” Also on the panel were Bausili and his vice Vladimir Werning.

Other sources told Clarion They said that Daza’s presentation, who took the lead, had been similar to that of Argentina Week last month in New York and another recent one in Tucumán.

The secretary spoke from “where they had started” and what they had arrived at, which he described as “a beautiful economic balance,” with low interest rates, with the purchase of reserves, with the labor reform, and the Glaciers law. “All these reforms plus the financial stabilization program are coming together,” he said and with great optimism he predicted that they were “extremely confident” that we will face a “very good second semester and that the economy will grow.”

There wasn’t much time for questions from the audience, but some wanted to know how the funding gap will be closed this year and Caputo responded that they were “exploring different alternatives.” Nobody asked about inflation.

Beyond his participation in the Assembly, the minister’s agenda also includes meetings with the heads of all international credit organizations in Washington: the managing director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva (meets on Friday); the President of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, and the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ilan Goldfajn. Also a meeting with the president of the CAF (Development Bank of Latin America), Sergio Díaz Granados. Returns to Buenos Aires on Friday.