Circular TINAC 1 - 216. CAMEX 1 - 283

BANCO CENTRAL DE LA REPUBLICA ARGENTINA
__________________________________________________________________ COMUNICACION " A " 1935 I 25/02/92 __________________________________________________________________ TO FINANCIAL ENTITIES:
Ref.: Circular
TINAC 1 - 216.
CAMEX 1 - 283.
We address you to bring to your attention that on 13.3.92 applications will be received from Financial Entities and Exchange Houses wishing to operate directly with the exchange desk and open market operations, during the period 1.5.92/30.4.93.

Given that the current period expires on 30.4.92, all interested entities must present themselves for reclassification, in order to be included among the maximum of 70 banks, 10 financial companies, and 15 exchange houses that will be included in this operation. The evaluation will be carried out based on the following parameters.

BANKS AND FINANCIAL COMPANIES

1. Computable equity responsibility.
   Average corresponding to the month of January 1992, in thousands of pesos, with one decimal.
2. Total operated in the Free Exchange Market for spot and forward transactions, in freely convertible currencies during the quarter November/91-January/92, in thousands of US dollars, with one decimal.
   To this end, all information provided in forms 4009 submitted during the period (purchases plus sales, without exclusions) must be taken.
   Currencies other than the US dollar will be arbitrated to this via the application of the passage rate of the day of agreement.
3. Average of numerals operated in the interbank market in pesos (form 3000, Table G, Row 1 and 2), during the quarter November/91-January/92, in thousands with one decimal (active plus passive operations, including what was operated in passes (capitals), with any guarantee, with the Central Bank).
4. Total operated in public securities in the Securities Market and in the Electronic Open Market - (operations declared before the National Securities Commission), during the quarter November/91-January/92, in thousands of pesos, with one decimal.

EXCHANGE HOUSES

1. Net equity as of 31.01.92, in thousands of pesos with one decimal.
2. Total operated in the Free Exchange Market during November/91-January/92, in thousands of US dollars, with one decimal.
   To this end, all information provided in forms 4033 submitted during the period (purchases plus sales, without exclusions) must be taken.
3. Total operated in public securities in the Securities Market and in the Electronic Open Market (operations declared before the National Securities Commission), during the quarter November/91-January/92, in thousands of pesos, with one decimal.

Each parameter will be ordered separately. The first place will be obtained by the entity that, summing the order numbers corresponding to each parameter, obtains the smallest absolute number. The best score for Banks and Financial Companies will be 4, while for Exchange Houses it will be 3. Cases of equality in positions within each parameter or in the final evaluation will be reclassified based on Computable Equity Responsibility, or Net Equity, as appropriate.

If equality persists, the following parameters will continue according to the order previously informed.
The information supplied by financial entities and exchange houses in their presentation, as well as that referred to Computable Equity Responsibility which must be updated by accepted entities by the 20th of each month following the report or the next business day, will have the character of a sworn declaration. This information will subsequently be considered by the Superintendence of Banks. Cases of irregularities that may be detected will be considered as "false information".

Entities will be assigned a daily credit margin to which the sum of the following operations will be limited, unless express provisions determine otherwise:

• Sale of foreign currency to the Central Bank.
• Purchase from the Central Bank of foreign currency banknotes.
• Purchase from the Central Bank of public securities against pesos.
• Sale to the Central Bank of public securities against foreign currency.
• Agreement of passive passes for the entities, regardless of their term and active negotiated.
  The credit margin will be calculated monthly, reaching 6% of the Computable Equity Responsibility corresponding to the second month prior to that to which it applies.

This daily margin will be US$ 10,000,000.- as maximum and US$ 500,000.- as minimum. Exchange houses will have a single daily credit margin for all of US$ 500,000.-.

Prior to the start of each quarter, the Central Bank will analyze the reports that the Superintendence of Financial Entities will issue on each participant, and may impose the condition of "restricted credit" or the suspension of activities with the Operations Desk.

Entities may overcome the "restricted credit" qualification by depositing a guarantee in public securities equivalent to double the assigned daily credit margin.

Entities that are suspended and those qualified with "restricted credit" who prefer not to pay the fee, as well as any other that withdraws from the operation, will be replaced by those that rank next in order once the classification is carried out, provided they do not merit equal observations from the Central Bank.

The quarterly fees corresponding to the period 01.05.92-30.04.93 will be as follows:

• Banks Category "B" and "C" ..............US$ 10,000.-
• Financial Companies framed in the terms of Communication "A" 1289.................US$ 3,000.-
• Exchange Houses .........................US$ 3,000.-
• Financial Companies not framed in the terms of Communication "A" 1289 and Banks not categorized as "B" or "C"...........................US$ 1,000.-

We salute you very attentively.
BANCO CENTRAL DE LA REPUBLICA ARGENTINA
Raul O. Planes Eduardo G. Castro
Manager of Open Market Deputy General Manager of Settlements and Interventions