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Argentine Banks Stable, but Face Obstacles to Future Growth According to Sullivan, the Argentine government's economic reforms during the past decade, including reinforcement of bank liquidity requirements and strict supervision of the financial system to guarantee solvency, have actively contributed to the current stability of the banking system. He points out that the United States owns a 50% share of foreign banks in Argentina and therefore plays a major influence in the financial market. Argentina is already among the world's leaders in innovative banking techniques, such as the Electronic Forms of Payment, which was introduced in 1997, allowing transactions to be made in real time. Despite these positive developments and opportunities for foreign investors, the country's banking system faces some challenges. Political opposition to further bank privatizations could pose a major obstacle to free capital flow. Other problems include poor security systems, inaccurate and incomplete client information and neglect of the development of small to mid-sized domestic banks. If Argentina is capable of dealing with these problems effectively, its financial market has the potential to become more attractive to foreign investors than ever before, the article concludes. http://www1.usatrade.gov/Website/MRD.nsf/ByCountry?
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