Argentina asked the International Monetary Fund to restructure its debt payments on the USD 56 billion bail-out loan agreed last year in a bid to calm market turbulence, Finance Minister Hernan Lacunza said Wednesday.
Following the announcement, the IMF said in a statement that it will "continue to stand with Argentina during these challenging times."
The request for repayment extensions aims to allow the next government to "deploy its policies without financial restrictions." An IMF delegation was visiting Argentina this week to review the loan, but is now returning to Washington as scheduled, the fund's spokesman Gerry Rice said in a statement that described talks with Lacunza and others as "productive."