By Alonso Soto
BRASILIA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A U.S. court ruling for
Argentina to repay creditors who rejected the restructuring of
its defaulted debt could set a bad precedent for other
countries, Brazilian central bank chief Alexandre Tombini said
on Thursday.
Tombini told a group of visiting foreign journalists that
similar rulings could hit European countries that had to
restructure their debts amid a spreading financial crisis, the
central bank's press office said.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa ordered
Argentina to deposit a $1.33 billion payment by Dec. 15 for
investors who rejected two restructurings of bonds left over
from its massive 2002 default.
Argentina got a reprieve on Wednesday when a U.S. appeals
court gave the South American country more time to fight the
order. The Argentine government has vowed not to repay the
so-called holdout creditors and appealed Griesa's ruling.
Tombini's comments highlight growing concerns with the power
that minority bondholders could have in blocking sovereign debt
restructurings at a time of crisis.
Brazil has a long history of debt crises and defaults, along
with several other Latin American countries that borrowed too
much in the 1960s and 1970s and were not able to repay their
debts as their economies slowed.
In a dramatic turn of events, Brazil is now paying
record-low interest rates on its foreign debt after a decade of
economic stability earned it the trust of global investors.
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