NEW YORK, April 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Daniel A. Pollack, Special Master presiding over settlement negotiations between Argentina and its "holdout" Bondholders, issues the following Statement today:
"The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today issued a Summary Order that will have an enormous and positive effect on settlements between the Republic of Argentina and its 'holdout' bondholders. The Court today explained and elaborated upon the ruling it had made from the bench after oral argument this past Wednesday, April 13. The Summary Order of the Court of Appeals fully and completely validates District Judge Griesa's order of March 2 conditionally lifting the injunctions in this set of cases. The injunctions had, as a practical matter, barred Argentina from accessing global capital markets. The Court of Appeals today held that there was no abuse of discretion by Judge Griesa in his conditional lifting of the Injunctions. This means that, once Judge Griesa certifies that the required payments to the 'holdout' bondholders have been made in accordance with their Agreements in Principle, and certifies that Argentina has repealed the restrictive Lock Law and the Sovereign Payment Law, Argentina will be freed of the Injunctions that have kept it isolated from the global financial markets for years. That certification could come as early as Thursday or Friday of next week, depending on when Argentina does its capital-raise needed to make the agreed payments. This is an enormously important event for the Republic, its 40 million people and, indeed, the world financial system. The impact of the ruling from the bench this past Wednesday was immediate and positive: several of the relatively few remaining 'holdouts' approached Argentina and have either signed settlements with the Republic or are in active negotiation to do so, including one group of individual bondholders who hold approximately $300 million face amount of defaulted bonds, with claims of $800 million. Prior to the ruling by the Court of Appeals and the Summary Order of today, it did not seem likely that agreement could be reached with these individuals, but today, as a result of the swift and decisive action by the Court of Appeals, it is a reality about to happen. I anticipate that the Summary Order will galvanize yet further settlements. As Special Master presiding over settlement negotiations, it is particularly gratifying to me to see that settlements continue to be made and that the remaining 'holdouts' are now exploring settlement. I will have no further comment today on this important development."