A US judge on Friday told Argentina it should not even consider evading a recent ruling requiring it to pay bondholders who did not participate in two major debt restructurings after the country's 2002 default. US District Judge Thomas Griesa in Manhattan said Argentina must not seek to avoid making payments to the holdout bondholders in accordance with an October 26 ruling from the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals.
"If, and I emphasise if, there is any thought on the part of the Republic to defy and evade the current ruling, then that thought should be seriously reconsidered and set aside," Griesa told Argentina's lawyers. Griesa's comments came in response to remarks by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who said the country would not pay "one dollar to the 'vulture funds'."
The holdouts include Elliott Management Corp affiliate NML Capital Ltd and the Aurelius Capital Management funds. They are suing to recoup $1.4 billion of defaulted debt. Griesa also said he would move to quickly resolve questions regarding how the payments will be made by December 2, when Argentina is due to make the first of three payments totalling more than $3 billion to bondholders.
The biggest payout will come December 15 when Argentina has to pay holders of its growth-linked GDP warrants, issued during its harsh 2005 and 2010 debt swaps. Friday's hearing was the latest development in an array of US litigation stemming from the country's sovereign default. The 2nd Circuit ruled that Argentina had improperly discriminated against bondholders who did not participate in the country's debt swaps. About 93 percent of creditors entered the swaps, exchanging their defaulted debt for new bonds.
The appeals court said Argentina had violated bond provisions requiring it to treat bondholders equally by paying those who did participate in the restructurings ahead of the holdouts. The ruling sent Argentine bond prices reeling and prompted a sovereign debt downgrade by Standard & Poor's. Following the appeals court ruling, NML Capital asked Griesa in a November 6 letter to rule quickly on two issues that the 2nd Circuit sent back to the trial judge to determine.
Among those issues was how the bond payment formula would operate. It also asked the judge to determine how the injunction would apply to third parties, including intermediary banks. NML's letter cited remarks by the president and Economy Minister Hernan Lorenzino stating they would not pay the holdout creditors. The officials also vowed to continue servicing the country's restructured debt.
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