Argentina completes debt restructuring

Argentina has completed the biggest debt restructuring in history, bidding to end its status as an international financial pariah three years after the country’s devastating economic crisis.

A deadline passed uneventfully yesterday for investors holding almost €90m in defaulted Argentine debt who were asked to accept a government offer to pay back about a third of their original investment.

The losses were among the worst for holders of government bonds anywhere in recent history.

Economy minister Roberto Lavagna said the debt restructuring went off without a hitch and the swap was carried out with “absolute normality” despite the complex number of bonds in at least four currencies spread among creditors worldwide.