New Decree Limiting Dollar And Peso Deposit Withdrawals

Section 1 - While this Decree is effective, the institutions subject to the Superintendency of Financial and Exchange Institutions of the Central Bank, shall apply the following rules in their transactions:

a) They shall be forbidden from making Peso denominated loans, operate in the foreign currency futures or options markets, or arbitrate, directly or indirectly, with term assets in Pesos. With the consent of the debtor, any Peso transactions in effect may be converted into U.S. Dollars at the exchange rate provided in the Convertibility Law.

b) They shall be forbidden from offering higher interest rates for Peso denominated deposits than those offered for U.S. Dollar denominated deposits. At the request of their holders, current transactions may be converted into foreign currency at the exchange rate provided in the Convertibility Law.

c) They shall be forbidden from charging any fees for the conversion of Pesos received in connection with any type of transaction, deposit, payment, transfer, etc., into U.S. Dollars at the exchange rate provided in the Convertibility Law, or in the conversion of U.S. Dollars into Pesos, provided that such conversions are carried out through accounts held with such financial institutions.

Section 2 - The following transactions are forbidden:

a) withdrawing cash in excess of two hundred and fifty Pesos or U.S. Dollars per week by the holder (of the bank account) or holders who sign jointly or separately, from the whole of their bank accounts in each financial institutions;

b) transfers of funds abroad, except for those that correspond to foreign trade transactions, to the payment of expenses or withdrawals made abroad by means of credit or debit cards issued by Argentine banks, or to the payment of financial transactions, in this latter case subject to Central Bank authorization.

Section 3 - The Central Bank may reduce the restrictions provided in the preceding section when the aggregate balances of the deposits of the financial system increase with respect to those at the closing of September 30, 2001, and the interest rates at which the different transactions are carried out are, in its opinion, normal.

Section 4 - Sight or time deposits, transfers among financial entities, renewals, account debits, issuance or crediting of checks, use of credit or debit cards, and in general all types of banking transactions that do not imply the reduction of funds within the financial system governed by Law No. 21,526, even if they result in transfers among financial institutions, remain intangible in the terms provided by Law No. 25,466.

Section 5 - While this Decree is effective, (financial) institutions shall not be allowed to neither hinder the transfer or disposition of funds among accounts, whichever is the institution that receives them, nor to charge any commission for the electronic transfer of funds among them carried out for the order and account of their clients.

Section 6 - Debtors classified in category 3 according to Central Bank regulations must obtain the prior consent of the creditor entity to carry out the payment of operations provided by Sections 30 (a), and 39 of Decree No. 1387/01. Debtors classified in categories 1 and 2 shall have the same possibility, provided they obtain the prior consent of the creditor institution.

Section 7 -The export of foreign bank notes and coins is forbidden, except when carried out through Financial and Exchange Institutions previously authorized by the Central Bank, or unless they do not exceed one thousand U.S. Dollars or its equivalent in other currencies, at the offered exchange rate determined by Banco Nacion.

Section 8 - The Central Bank shall be the implementation authority of this Decree. It may issue any rules necessary to insure that all the country’s inhabitants may use and dispose of their financial assets, open savings accounts and obtain debit cards, or other means provided in this Decree, and regulate the conditions and maximum costs at which the relevant institutions shall be required to render the service.

Section 9 - This Decree is considered to be public policy and shall be in force from the date hereof until midnight of the day following the closing of the public debt exchange provided in Section 24 of Decree No. 1387/01.