Argentine Banking Research Articles

Not the Usual Suspects: Addressing Layers of Vulnerability

This paper challenges the traditional account of vulnerability in healthcare which conceptualizes vulnerability as a list of identifiable subpopulations. This list of 'usual suspects', focusing on groups from lower resource settings, is a narrow account of vulnerability. In this article we argue that in certain circumstances middle-class individuals can be also rendered vulnerable. We propose a relational and layered account of vulnerability and explore this concept using the case study of cord blood (CB) banking. In the first section, two different approaches to 'vulnerability' are contrasted: categorical versus layered. In the second section, we describe CB banking and present a case study of CB banking in Argentina. We examine the types of pressure that middle-class pregnant women feel when considering CB collection and storage. In section three, we use the CB banking case study to critique the categorical approach to vulnerability: this model is unable to account for the ways in which these women are vulnerable. A layered account of vulnerability identifies several ways in which middle-class women are vulnerable. Finally, by utilizing the layered approach, this paper suggests how public health policies could be designed to overcome vulnerabilities.

Market Risk Policy of Banks in Argentina

Risk taking is an integral part of banking. Risk management needs to address this issue of risk taking and also the risk management system established should in accordance with the size and complexity of the bank’s business operations in order to ensure that the bank’s risks are able to be managed by the bank’s risk strategies and appetite. Argentina is one country which has faced the financial crisis thus its important know how it had dealt with its market risk and also what the market risk policies of banks in Argentina. The Central Bank of Argentina follows the BASAL guidelines in order formulate its Market Risk Policies which the other commercial banks may follow. If the other banks prefer they can have a separate market risk policy for their bank. In Argentina the Market Risk Policies of the banks are focused on the aim to reduce the risk in dealing with bank securities. Thus, Market risk policy in Argentina helps to reduce the risk for the banks at its best.

Contribution of the Subprime Crisis to Changes in the Investment Policy of the Banks in Argentina

At the beginning of the 21st century, the planet has been facing a conjunction of disorders in the domains of finance, ecology, food and energy. This crisis appears to be systemic for it takes its roots in the global finance-led capitalism which has become the dominant regime in the world economy. This global crisis also has a geopolitical dimension since it raises the question of international governance in the context of changing relationships between developed countries and emerging market economies. It is in such a background that we aim to reassess the financial perspective of the Investment Policies employed by Argentina in the aftermath of the subprime crisis

Compliance of Basal Norms by Banks in Argentina

BASAL Committee was establishes in 1974 in order to curb the problems of Banks. The Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision; and the Concordat on cross-border banking supervision Since the BASAL Committee was formed in order to improve the conditions of the Banking industry of various nations. Since, Argentina is one the member countries therefore there has to be a compliance of the norms framed by this committee by the banks of Argentina. This project work in its first part discusses the existing BASAL norms and then Argentina being one country which has faced an economic crisis thus this project specifically deals with the how the Banks in Argentina comply with the existing BASAL norms. In this study it has been dealt in detail some of the important principles of BASAL which are being complied with in the Argentina. Firstly those principles are identified as they exist in Argentina and then how the Central Bank of Argentina had tried to comply with them. The Central Bank of Argentina only gives path to the other commercial Banks of Argentina regarding their compliance with the existing BASAL norms. The Central Bank of Argentina only guides the compliance of these BASAL norms by the banks in Argentina.

Nature of Bank Deposits in Argentina

In today’s scenario it is a day a day to activity where people engage themselves into borrowing and lending of money for business purpose or for some other personal purpose. When people have access of money and wishes to keep the same in safe custody that is when the concept of Bank Deposits come into action and acts as a helping to those wishing to deposit their money with the banks. Argentina is one country which a huge economic crisis and the peso was converted into US dollar but then too it has been seen that the banking industry in Argentina has a considerably good place in the world. The Central Bank of Argentina allows regulates the working of other Argentine banks also allows them to accept bank deposits. It can be observed that nature of a bank deposits offered completely depends upon the bank itself hence, it can be said that many of the banks in Argentina offer Term Deposits and Savings Deposits while some also offer Current Deposits.

Financialisation vs. Development Finance: the Case of the Post-Crisis Argentine Banking System

The end of the Bretton Woods era and the emergence of neoliberal economics resulted in profound transformations in domestic economies and international economic relations. The keystone of these transformations was the liberalisation of domestic and international financial markets. Faulty theoretical foundations and the resulting catastrophic policy failures prompted a vast literature by critical economists on the international financial architecture and domestic financial structures best suited for economic development. In recent decades, debate has also centred on what has been labelled “financialisation”, i.e. the increasingly central role played by financial markets and transactions in economic activity. In this paper we try to ascertain whether Argentina experienced a process of financialisation between 1990 and 2009 and what impact, if any, it has had on Argentine banking. We conclude that there has been a strong process of financialisation in Argentina in the post 2001-2002 crisis period. We also explore in a preliminary fashion potential reasons behind Argentine post-crisis financialisation. The paper concludes by suggesting that it is time to consider alternative banking arrangements if development finance is to become a policy priority.

Contending with liberalisation: crisis and recovery of the Argentine banking sector in the period of 1994 to 2011

From the early 1990s until 1998, Argentina liberalised its banking system as part of a strategy to enter a globalised economy. The subsequent monetary policies, combined with ‘convertibilidad’ and an elevated government debt, led to a loss of confidence in the financial system, ending in the deep recession of 1998–2002. A sovereign debt default of $100 billion in December 2001 followed, and in January 2002 the fixed exchange regime was officially abandoned. This paper examines how firm-specific characteristics and the overall financial and macroeconomic environment affected Argentine bank profitability over the period 1994-2011. We use a large panel data of 62 commercial banks drawn from the Bankscope database. Our findings highlight that internal characteristics of banks (i.e., capitalisation, credit risk, operating expenses), financial environment of the banking industry and macroeconomic trends such as the growth in GDP per capita income have a significant effect on bank returns. Finally, we discuss policy outcomes including the way Central Bank of Argentina handled the crisis and trends in the banking industry. This study seeks to draw the strategic implications for banking systems in developing countries that are contending with globalisation.

Sistema bancario y de producción en Argentina

Los cambios macroeconómicos en la Argentina posteriores a la crisis 2001 abrieron un interesante escenario para indagar si las formas de valorización financiera del capital imperantes durante los años noventa han podido ser reemplazadas por formas acumulativas ligadas a la inversión productiva. Trabajando con el concepto de Sistema Social de Producción (SSP), y su adaptación para su uso en escenarios periféricos, y advirtiendo la importancia que adquiere el Sistema Financiero en dicho sistema, se analiza el Sistema Financiero Bancario argentino durante el periodo 1990-2010. El trabajo identifica la preeminencia de continuidades antes que cambios respecto del periodo de convertibilidad(1990-2001), lo cual afecta limitativamente la cualificación del ssp para insertarse por las vías altas de las cadenas globales y salir de su posición periférica

Fragmentación del empresariado en la época de la industrialización por sustitución de importaciones (ISI) en la Argentina: una aproximación desde el estudio de la red corporativa (1954-1970)

This article investigates the behavior and cohesion of the Argentine business elite during the period of import substitution industrialization (ISI) analyzing the interlocking directorates between 1954 and 1970-1971. This study provides the first relational map of large companies and banks in Argentina during the ISI period applying the social network analysis method. In this work we argue that the corporate network in Argentina during the ISI period was characterized by a high level of fragmentation. If interlocking directorates can be considered an expression of the cohesion of the corporate elite, our findings show the limited joint capacity of the corporate network to coordinate economic and business activities. This article also posits that the cohesion of the boards’ network declined between 1954 and 1970. A change in large companies’ ownership structure drove a shift in the interlocking directorates. A second factor explaining this change was a context characterized by frequent changes in economic policy, strong distribution clashes, and severe macroeconomic and institutional volatility. This research indicates that, in a setting where long-term planning proved difficult, board interlocking became less strategically significant as a business coordination mechanism.

Argentina: Los bancos te dan sorpresas

Los bancos argentinos después de la crisis 2000-2003 han recuperado niveles de rentabilidad notablemente elevados, incluso por encima de los alcanzados en la época de la convertibilidad de los años noventa. En este trabajo se sostiene que si bien en los últimos seis años la actividad productiva se recuperó fuertemente, las ganancias de los bancos no surgieron del financiamiento de la producción o los servicios. Esta notablemente elevada rentabilidad procede principalmente del financiamiento al consumo, del cobro de servicios financieros y de la renta proveniente de los títulos públicos. Además está sustentada en el aumento en la concentración del segmento de entidades financieras privadas y su capacidad de fijar precios en el mercado. Por otro lado, se expone la elevada concentración sectorial y regional del crédito y el bajo acceso de las pequeñas y medianas empresas a los préstamos. Todo lo cual configura un cuadro de continuidad en el sistema financiero reformado durante la dictadura y que está muy lejos de responder a las necesidades de financiamiento del desarrollo.<br />

Financial Crisis and Sectoral Diversification of Argentine Banks, 1999-2004

We explore the impact and evolution of loan portfolio diversification during the 2001-2002 Argentine financial crisis. Using a novel dataset that combines public information on the main activity of the largest 930 Argentine firms with their borrowing from each bank operating in the country during the 1999-2004 period, we find that banks did not modify much their loan portfolio mix as a response to the crisis, even though the econometric results point to a positive effect of sectoral diversification and lending to tradeable sectors on bank profitability and risk mitigation. Our results suggest that larger banks benefit more from diversification that smaller ones, and that the benefits of diversification are greater during the downside of the business cycle.

Drivers and Obstacles to Banking SMEs: The Role of Competition and the Institutional Framework

This paper studies the factors banks perceive as drivers and obstacles to financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), focusing on the role of competition and the institutional framework. Using a survey of banks in Argentina and Chile, the paper shows that, despite alleged differences in the countries'environments regarding rules, regulations, and ease of doing business, SMEs have become a strategic segment for most banks in both countries. In particular, banks have begun to target SMEs due to the significant competition in the corporate and retail sectors. They perceive the SMEs market as highly profitable, large, and with good prospects. Moreover, banks are developing coping mechanisms to overcome the particular institutional obstacles present in each country and to compete for SMEs. Banks'interest in SMEs is not based on government programs, yet policy action might help reduce the cost of providing financing, especially long-term lending.

Local Bank Financial Constraints and Firm Access to External Finance

ABSTRACTI exploit the exogenous component of a formula‐based allocation of government funds across banks in Argentina to test for financial constraints and underinvestment by local banks. Banks are found to expand lending by $0.66 in response to an additional dollar of external financing. Using novel data to measure risk and return on marginal lending, I show that the profitability of lending does not decline and total borrower debt increases during lending expansions, holding investment opportunities constant. Overall, financial shocks to constrained banks are found to have a quick, persistent, and amplified effect on the aggregate supply of credit.

The impact of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) program on radiation and tissue banking in Argentina

Tissue banking activities in Argentina started in 1993. The regulatory and controlling national authority on organ, tissue and cells for transplantation activity is the National Unique Coordinating Central Institute for Ablation and Implant (INCUCAI). Three tissue banks were established under the IAEA program and nine other banks participated actively in the implementation of this program. As result of the implementation of the IAEA program in Argentina and the work done by the established tissue banks, more and more hospitals are now using, in a routine manner, radiation sterilised tissues processed by these banks. During the period 1992-2005, more than 21 016 tissues were produced and irradiated in the tissue banks participating in the IAEA program. Within the framework of the training component of the IAEA program, Argentina has been selected to host the Regional Training Centre for Latin American. In this centre, tissue bank operators and medical personal from Latin American countries were trained. Since 1999, Argentina has organised four regular regional training courses and two virtual regional training courses. More than twenty (20) tissue bank operators and medical personnel from Argentina were trained under the IAEA program in the six courses organised in the country. In general, ninety (96) tissue bank operators and medical personnel from eight Latin-American countries were trained in the Buenos Aires regional training centre. From Argentina 16 students graduated in these courses.

Financial crisis and sectoral diversification of Argentine banks, 1999–2004

We explore the impact and evolution of loan portfolio diversification during the 2001–2002 Argentine financial crises. Using a novel dataset that combines public information on the main activity of the largest 930 Argentine firms with their borrowing from each bank operating in the country between 1999 and 2004, we find that banks did not modify much their loan portfolio mix as a response to the crisis. Econometric results point to a positive effect of sectoral diversification and lending to tradable sectors on bank profitability and risk mitigation. Our results suggest that larger banks benefit more from diversification than smaller ones and that the benefits of diversification are greater during the downside of the business cycle.

Comparison of four commercial screening assays for the diagnosis of human T-cell Lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2

Serological assays for human T-cell lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/2) are widely used in routine screening of blood donors. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of four commercial screening assays for HTLV-1/2 infection frequently used in South America.A total of 142 HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 seropositive and 336 seronegative samples were analyzed by using four commercial tests (BioKit, Vironostika, Murex and Fujirebio). These tests are commonly used for HTLV-1/2 detection in blood banks in Argentina. A nested-PCR was used as the reference standard.The most sensitive tests for HTLV-1/2 were Fujirebio and Biokit (98.6%) followed by Murex (97.2%) and Vironostika (96.5%). The most specific test was Murex (99.7%), followed by Biokit (97.0%), Fujirebio (95.8%), and Vironostika (92.9%). The kappa index of agreement was higher for Murex (κ=0.97), followed by BioKit (κ=0.94), Fujirebio (κ=0.92), and Vironostika (κ=0.86).The highest index of agreement was shown by Murex test while Vironostika had the lowest performance. Of the four tests evaluated, only the Vironostika assay is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. These results should be considered for choosing the most accurate serological screening assays in order to obtain an optimal efficiency of the current algorithm for HTLV-1/2 diagnosis.

The direct and indirect impact of bank privatization and foreign entry on access to credit in Argentina’s provinces

Privatization and increased foreign ownership transformed the Argentine banking sector during the 1990s. While both improved sector efficiency, there was concern that they might reduce access to credit outside of Buenos Aires. The results in this paper suggest that these fears were exaggerated. Provinces that privatized their banks suffered only temporary reductions in credit associated with cleaning the portfolio of the privatized banks. Typically, growth in lending by the privatized entity and by other banks restored credit to pre-privatization levels within a few years. In addition, increased foreign ownership coincided with more, not less, lending outside of Buenos Aires.

Measuring Economies of Scale and Scope for the Argentine Bank
 Industry: A Comparative Analysis, 1996-1999

This paper examines the economies of scale and scope among Argentina's commercial banks following the financial and monetary reforms of the early 1990s by using cross-sectional data of all commercial banks operating in Argentina in years 1996 and 1999. The paper focuses on three well-known measures of scale and scope efficiency; namely, the Ray Scale Economy Measure (Baumol, Panzar, and Willig, 1982), the Expansion Path Scale Economy Measure (Berger, Hanweck and Humphrey, 1987), and the Expansion Path Subadditivity Measure (Berger et al., 1987). A translog cost function and N-1 input share equations are jointly estimated utilizing SUR. Then, coefficient estimates of the cost function are used to construct the efficiency measures for years 1996 and 1999. Estimation results reveal the existence of significant levels of scale economies in both years, although increasing returns turned out to be consistently lower in year 1999, indicating a shift over time towards higher efficiency. On the other hand, there is also evidence of cost superadditivity in both periods, although these measures become statistically significant only for year 1996. Overall, levels of output inefficiency found in this study represent more than ten percent of banking costs, (i.e. two or three times the levels encountered in studies of welldeveloped financial markets like the US banking sector), which raises a question in terms of the sustainability of at least some Argentine banks operating currently.

The Political Economy of Bank Reform in Argentina Under Convertibility

We provide an analytical narrative of the political and economic causes and consequences of institutional changes in the Argentine banking system. We devote most of our attention to the privatization of the provincial banks. Our story differs from the prevailing wisdom in its stress on the key roles played by convertibility and an independent Central Bank rather than the Fondo Fiduciario (Fiduciary Fund).

Excelência em bancos de leite humano: uma visão do futuro--the First International Congress on Human Milk Banking.

The first International Congress of Human Milk Banks--Excellence in Human Milk Banking: A Vision of the Future, held in Brazil in June 2000 and sponsored by the Brazilian Association of Milk Banks, had representation from milk banks in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Venezuela, France, the United Kingdom, and North America as well as Brazil. A recurring theme in the discussion of donor milk banking was the role of each country's milk banks in the promotion and support of breastfeeding. The Brazilian National Reference Milk Bank and the growth of donor milk banking in Brazil over the past 15 years were described, including federal regulation that all milk bank directors be trained and certified. Milk banking systems in France, the United Kingdom, Venezuela and the Caribbean, and North America were also discussed. Similarities and differences in the donor screening process and the regulation of milk banks in the countries is presented.