Argentina Watch: Satellite deal with Brazil, new digital bank branches

Argentina's modernization ministry accepted a proposal from Brazil to include new frequency bands in a 2001 bilateral agreement on space capacity, Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel announced.

As a result, Brazilian satellite companies will be able to increase investment in Argentina and can raise the volume of bilateral trade and telecommunications services provided to customers of the two countries.

According to Argentine regulations, for a foreign satellite to be authorized to sell capacity in Argentine territory, the country of origin of that satellite must have a bilateral agreement with the Argentine government.

The agreement is intended to facilitate provision of capacity of Brazilian satellites in the Argentine market and vice versa. It is also aimed at coordinating the technical conditions and criteria for the development of this market in accordance with the regulations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

***

Banco de la Nación (BNA) opened two new digital branches in Argentina in the last few days.

The first of them was unveiled in Neuquén, capital of the province of the same name. At that branch, operations can be carried out using ATMs, self-service terminals and by phone. It was reportedly BNA's first digital branch outside Buenos Aires.

Days later, however, BNA opened another digital branch, this time in the city of San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, capital of Catamarca province.

The Argentine financial system comprises 77 entities, including banks and other financial players. State-run giant BNA is the largest in terms of loan stock, with 235bn pesos (US$6.2bn), according to the latest central bank ranking from December last year.