BlackRock's Fink says Argentina won't soon regain investor trust

Blackrock Inc. CEO Larry Fink said Argentina has a long way to go before it can regain investor confidence.

Fink said the government's "shift" from one economic policy to another was undermining confidence in the country amid economic turmoil, and that it will take "a long time" for the private sector to feel comfortable investing there again.

"If you are interested in Latin America, there are safer and more consistent places to invest than Argentina at the moment," Fink said at a Banco Santander virtual conference. "I hope the current government regains that confidence."

Comments from one of Argentina's largest foreign investors highlights Wall Street's frustration with the government, just weeks after a US$65-billion debt restructuring that is supposed to pave the way for sustainable growth. Argentine bonds abroad have plummeted 24 percent since the swap, while a new round of capital controls has failed to boost the peso. The gap between the official exchange rate and that used by investors and savers to circumvent controls recently increased to its widest level in more than 30 years.

"We need to feel comfortable that we are not going to harm the money our client entrusts to us, that we can be confident that we will get 100 percet of our capital back," said Fink.