Werning links Argentina's credit recovery to stronger FX buffers
Argentina's credit cycle is recovering as non-performing loans decline, BCRA Deputy Governor Vladimir Werning told investors in Bangkok in October 2026. He presented lending reforms, savings anchors and measures to strengthen foreign exchange buffers.
Credit resumes as reserves rebuild
Vladimir Werning of the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) described falling household non-performing loans, recovering transactional money demand and renewed peso and dollar lending.
Bank funding rates were negative in real terms; business lending rates had declined and household rates were starting to fall.
Capital market financing continued expanding.
He reported net international reserve gains since December 2023 exceeding $30 billion on an accrual basis, versus over $20 billion in cash terms.
Repayment of import debt from 2022-23 explained part of that difference.
BCRA was reducing FX futures exposure, refinancing repos, securing swaps and repaying Bopreals.
Werning said flexible exchange rate bands and fiscal discipline supported external stability.
Broader lending without bank bailouts
BCRA introduced a prudential framework for dollar corporate loans and term funding auctions for mortgages.
Further BCRA and National Securities Commission initiatives cover payroll deductions, transferable card receivables, collateral records and guarantee leverage.
Werning rejected bank bailouts and credit-scoring forbearance.
He blamed sub-sovereign taxes for high borrowing costs.
Savings anchors include a stronger BCRA balance sheet, quarterly policy reports, disinflation and charter reform to entrench independence.
He also cited RIGI investment incentives to diversify exports.
Fiscal discipline carries the framework
Werning places fiscal discipline, rather than monetary easing alone, at the center of durable credit growth and external balance.
He assigns lower household borrowing costs partly to tax reform.
His distinction between cash and accrual reserves makes repayment of inherited FX obligations central to judging progress.