BUENOS AIRES, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has
backed Argentina in one of its cases against sovereign bond
investors who declined to participate in restructurings
following the country's 2002 default, according to a brief that
was filed this week.
The U.S. Supreme Court in January agreed to consider a
dispute over subpoenas in a case stemming from long-running
litigation over Argentina's obligations to bond investors in the
wake of its record-smashing default on $100 billion in
obligations 12 years ago.
The U.S. government filed an amicus brief on Monday with the
court backing Argentina's stance in the case.
Ninety-three percent of holders accepted steep reductions in
payment terms as part of the 2005 and 2010 restructurings.
The court agreed to hear Argentina's appeal after an appeals
court said a hedge fund could subpoena banks for information
about the South American country's non-U.S. assets.
The hedge fund, NML Capital, a holder of Argentine bonds,
wants repayment in full. The repayment issue is the subject of
high-profile litigation that could be headed to the U.S. high
court in a separate case.
In that separate case, Argentina filed an appeal to the U.S.
Supreme Court last month seeking to reverse lower court
decisions ordering the country to pay $1.33 billion to hedge
fund creditors in a case Argentine officials warn could force it
to default anew on its sovereign debt.
The appeal followed a Nov. 18 decision by the 2nd U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in New York denying Argentina's
petition for a rehearing in a decade-long legal battle with
holders of debt from the 2002 default.
The litigation has heightened investor concerns about South
America's second-largest economy, which is still reeling from a
17 percent currency devaluation in January and one of the
world's highest inflation rates, estimated by private analysts
at about 30 percent.
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