An Argentinian Haircut for the IMF
By approving an unprecedentedly large loan to Argentina in mid-2018, despite the country's failure to meet basic borrowing conditions, the International Monetary Fund committed a major blunder. Rather than compounding the mistake with another similar program, it should accept reality – and responsibility.
NEW YORK – Argentina is about to enter another dysfunctional stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund – its 22nd SBA since it joined the IMF in 1956. While the details have not yet been settled, we already know that it will be dysfunctional, because there will be no up-front restructuring of the country’s public debt.