...- The administration of President Alberto Fernandez launched and concluded an exchange on its peso-denominated short-term debt on Jan. 20, 2020. - This followed the Dec. 19, 2019, unilateral extension (until August 2020) of U.S. dollar-denominated short-term paper held by private-sector market participants. - We classify this peso-debt exchange as a distressed exchange, which constitutes a default under our criteria, and we are lowering our local currency sovereign credit ratings on Argentina to '##/##' from '###-/C'. - We are also affirming our long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating at '###-', and the outlook remains negative. The negative outlook reflects prospects for a further restructuring of sovereign debt as the administration holds dialogues with bondholders, financial intermediaries, and official creditors on its policy priorities, economic strategy, and re-profiling plans....
