One more inflation stuck its tail and updating values that should simplify the number of operations to be reviewed to detect irregular transactions becomes a boomerang elimination to more investors under the magnifying glass and this will be another obstacle when it comes to accessing dollars.
Although from the government they emphasize that the goal is not to restrict operations, in the marketplace they smell that the purpose is to even close the fence of authorized transactions in the purchase of currencies. And that suspicion is enhanced by verifying that these changes occur once the dollar alternatives leave the dream of peace exchange where they buried themselves for two months.
It all started when the Financial Information Unit (UIF) updated the peso values at which brokerage firms should report the purchase of the “MEP dollar”.
The MEP dollar is an operation that allows foreign exchange to take place in the stock market by buying and selling shares and titles listed in pesos and dollars. This is legal and is not covered by the US $ 200 monthly quota that applies to dollar savings. This week, the MEP opened $ 207.8ten pesos above the savings dollar and two pesos more expensive than the blue dollar.
Resolution 50/22 changed the $ 40,000 threshold established in 2018 for operations to be reported to the FIU and updated to $ 56,000 in 2019.
now that floor becomes $ 120,000. At first glance the floor seemed raised. But since these are transactions that take the peso as a reference but are actually made in dollars, the reality is in this change more operations will remain under the control of the FIU.
in 2017 this threshold was equivalent to approximately US $ 2,500 and went up to US $ 1,500 two years later, while now it indicates a floor of US $ 600according to market calculations.
With these changes, operations in excess of US $ 600 will be reported by banks and brokers to the FIU. And it will be that unit’s decision whether or not to investigate the investor buying the MEP.
This change in the threshold of amounts to be reported on MEP purchases is part of a package of larger controls over various operations. On that list are sectors such as Escribanos; Professionals in Economic Sciences, Mutual Associations and Cooperatives; trustees of trustees; Capital Markets; Financial and exchange entities, among others. Each of these sectors has different minimum values where the operation must be reported to the FIU.
The official argument for establishing these controls is “this measure will make it easier for Regulated Entities manage the risks of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financingin accordance with international standards approved by the INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ACTION GROUP (FATF) ”.
For the market, updating new floors has a deterrent effect due may intimidate investors who are out of order with all their paperwork and that, faced with the idea that the FIU might stick its nose in the transaction, they would rather avoid doing so.
“Whoever is afraid to go to the MEP will go in the blue ”, operators are sliding, so the official move could give life to the parallel market, which came in a bullish streak of 10 pesos on just five wheels.
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Source: Clarin
