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ATFA to Unveil Cost of Argentina's 2005 Default at Rome Conference November 8th

November 02, 2006

Will Discuss Italy's Estimated $12 Billion in Losses; Meet with Senior Government, Industry and Banking Officials

Contact: media@atfa.org, 1-888-662-2382

WASHINGTON, DC and ROME - Today, the American Task Force Argentina (ATFA) announced that Co-Chair Robert J. Shapiro will deliver the keynote address to a conference in Rome hosted by the Italian State Federation of Consumers on November 8th.

Dr. Shapiro, Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs in the Clinton Administration will share his recent findings on the direct and indirect financial impact of Argentina's default and 2005 restructuring on American and Italian investors and the global economy at-large.

With Professor Nam D. Pham of The George Washington University, Dr. Shapiro analyzed and quantified these effects in a new ATFA report titled, "Discredited: The Impact of Argentina's Sovereign Debt Default and Debt Restructuring on U.S. Taxpayers and Investors." The report found that the default and restructuring cost Argentina's worldwide lenders some $74 billion, including net costs of $7.9 billion for U.S. lenders and $11.6-to-$12.1 billion for Italian lenders. The report also found that the default and subsequent restructuring also cost U.S. taxpayers some $2.6 billion and U.S. shareholders of companies with direct investments in Argentina some $7.8 billion. The comparable costs for Italian taxpayers totaled $3.8 billion, while Italians shareholders lost $1.8 billion.

"The Italian people have paid a large price for Argentina's refusal to honor the international norms of lending," said Shapiro. "I hope that our visit to Rome will raise awareness of this issue and foster a trans-Atlantic partnership in pursuit of a more equitable resolution of Argentina's default and 2005 restructuring," Shapiro concluded.

While in Rome, Dr. Shapiro will meet with government, industry and banking officials including Dr. Nocola Stock of the Italian Task Force Argentina to discuss collaborative efforts to address Argentina's take-it-or-leave-it restructuring program of 2005 and work to ensure that the Argentine approach does not become a new international standard, undermining international lending to developing countries.

Dr. Shapiro recently shared the findings of the ATFA report at two U.S. conferences hosted by Latin Finance Magazine in Washington, D.C. and New York.

ATFA, through a variety of events and research initiatives, will work to encourage the United States government and other stakeholders to take action on behalf of American taxpayers, businesses and bondholders. The ATFA has also launched a website at www.atfa.org to serve as a clearinghouse for news and information related to Argentina's restructuring and ATFA's efforts.

Made up of major creditor groups, the ATFA is co-chaired by The Honorable Robert J. Shapiro, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs in the Clinton Administration and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, Ambassador at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1997 to 2001.

For additional information, please visit our new website at www.atfa.org, or contact info@atfa.org, or +1-888-662-2382.

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