On Jan. 27, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'B-' long-term foreign- and local-currency ratings on the Republic of Argentina following the government's proposed exchange of guaranteed loans (known as préstamos garantizados in Spanish) for new bonds. The outlook remains stable. According to market information, Argentina's government was in private negotiations with domestic creditors to swap guaranteed loans for a new debt instrument in order to extend the maturities of government debt. Based on information at our disposal, we do not expect the proposed transaction to constitute a distressed debt exchange, which would constitute a sovereign default under our criteria. For an exchange offer to be considered tantamount to default, we would need to conclude that the terms
