"2011 – Year of Decent Work, Health and Safety of Workers"

COMMUNICATION “A” 5196 18/03/2011

TO:

• Financial Entities,
• Electronic Clearing Houses,
• Companies Managing ATM Networks:

Ref.: Circular SINAP 1‑26

Immediate Funds Transfers. Electronic Clearing Houses. Guarantees.

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We address you to communicate the provisions that will govern, from the implementation of the immediate funds transfers announced by the respective Communication “A”, the constitution of guarantees in favor of the Electronic Clearing Houses.

In this sense, the annex to this communication defines the mechanism for creation and use of such guarantees.

We greet you very attentively.

CENTRAL BANK OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

Julio C. Pando Benigno A. Velez

Chief Manager of Payment Systems and Current Accounts a/c General Manager

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ANNEX

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Electronic Clearing Houses are responsible for the settlement and clearing of the final positions of entities governed by the Financial Entities Law and are an integral part of the National Payments System.

The coverage of net debtor balances arising from the clearing of immediate transfers must be guaranteed, avoiding risks that could eventually affect the whole system.

The guarantee‑creation scheme foreseen for the cancellation of balances of immediate‑transfer operations must be adjusted as set out below.

Providers of the immediate‑transfer clearing service will accept transfer operations up to the amount covered by the guarantee constituted at the Central Bank, by mutual agreement between the parties, plus the credits made by the entities in the CEC account. Insufficient guarantee will limit the activity of the financial entity.

1. Calculation of Guarantees

Financial entities providing this service must constitute guarantees for each currency class that is settled.

The amount of such guarantees will be established by mutual agreement between the entities and the providers of the immediate‑transfer clearing service, taking into account that it must constantly cover the respective net debtor balances emerging from the ordered and received transactions. The sufficiency of guarantees must be permanently monitored to admit the flow of operations.

In the event that the net debtor balance reaches the guaranteed amount, the entities must transfer through the MEP to the CEC account opened at the Central Bank the funds that increase the cited amount to permit the flow of the mentioned immediate transfers.

2. Availability of Guarantees

The CEC must request the Central Bank – Current Accounts Management – for each adhered entity the opening of special guarantee accounts in the different currency classes in which authorized compensations are performed by the Central Bank, whose operation will be adjusted to the guidelines indicated below, in order to keep the constituted guarantees available for immediate application:

a) Ownership:
To cover the clearing of Immediate Transfers: the accounts will be designated "Abbreviated CEC Name / Name of the immediate‑transfer clearing service provider / Name of the adhered entity / Immediate Transfers".

b) Availability of balances:
No checkbooks will be enabled.
Balances will be available via transfer to the current account of the entity or of the CEC. Account debits will be ordered solely and exclusively by the CEC, B.C.R.A., via X‑400 message addressed to the electronic address: "BCRA‑GARANTIAS".

c) Origin of credits:
The crediting of funds into the special guarantee accounts will have no limitation or conditioning.

d) Destination of debits:
Only debits whose destination is the operational current account of the CEC, by application of the guarantee, or the current account of the adhered entity, for reimbursement of excess constituted guarantee, will be processed.

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-2-

Scheme for Settlement of Balances
The settlement procedure foreseen for the cancellation of operation balances between entities that provide the immediate‑funds‑transfer service must be adjusted as follows:

a) Daily Net Balances:
Every day, at the time to be determined, the CEC must receive or generate the net debtor and creditor balances of all involved operations, while the providers of the immediate‑transfer clearing service will inform those same balances to their adhered entities.

b) Payment of Debtor Balances:
All entities must pay debtor balances within the established schedules, by transfers executed through the MEP to the account that the CEC determines for the payment of such operations, using payment instructions to identify the clearing service provider and including the phrase "Immediate transfers" to be covered. Because a single account may receive payments for more than one operation, the payment instruction will be the only means to identify them; therefore, the payment instructions defined for each type of transfer must be respected.

c) Insufficient Funds Situation:
If, within the defined schedule between each CEC and the immediate‑transfer clearing service provider, any debtor entity has not deposited the total sum in the determined account, the CEC will inform the clearing service provider of the situation and will await instructions.

d) Instruction on Guarantee Liquidation:
The immediate‑transfer clearing service provider must instruct the CEC on the liquidation of the debtor entity’s guarantee.

e) Distribution to Creditors:
Once all debtor balances are covered, the CEC will transfer funds to the entities that present creditor balances, debiting its account and crediting each entity’s account at the B.C.R.A. At the same time, it will return to the entities the sums deposited in excess.