Argentine bank loans show positive signs in September

Bank loans in Argentina during September totaled 16bn pesos (US$1.1bn), up 2% compared to the previous month.

Nevertheless, loans during the month were down 20.8% compared to the same month of 2015, according to Argentina's central bank BCRA.

September inflation was projected to reach between 1.1% and 1.4% in the central bank's August survey of analysts' expectations.

The highest growth was in the consumer loans segment (6.9bn pesos), which climbed 3.7% month-on-month in September, despite dipping some 32% year-on-year.

The turning point in loan growth was in August, according to Analytica economist Martin Polo. "The news this time came from the side of credit cards which, after growing by an average 0.7% in February-August, accelerated to 3.5% growth last month," Polo was quoted as saying by local paper La Nación.

The positive trend in loans was maintained in the first week of October as "if we take the latest figures, consumer loans and secured loans are growing at 4% month-on-month. This is the first time this has happened since [Federico] Sturzenegger took over [as governor of] the central bank," said Amílcar Collante at economic analysis firm CeSur.