COMMITMENTS TO NEW ARGENTINE LOAN REACH 91 PCT
Commitments to Argentina's external
financing program for 1987 and 1988 have reached about 91 pct
of the 1.95 billion dlrs in new loans that banks have been
asked to provide, Citibank and Argentina said in a joint
statement.
    This percentage is close to the "critical mass" of
commitments that the International Monetary Fund has requested
as a condition for releasing new loans to the country.
    Senior Citibank executive William Rhodes said he was
encouraged by the banks' response and that telexed commitments
continue to arrive.
    The response of Argentina's 350 foreign bank creditors had
been eagerly awaited because the package is the first to be
marketed since U.S. banks, led by Citibank, decided to take
large second-quarter losses in order to boost their reserves
against existing loans to developing countries.
    Some bankers had feared that banks would refuse to lend new
money so soon after taking a "hit" on the old loans, but
today's news delivers a decisive rebuff to those skeptics.
    The strong response to the package was partly the result of
the inducement of a 3/8 pct early-participation fee for those
banks that agreed to sign up by June 17, bankers said.
 Reuter
