To: Alan Smithee who wrote (1958 ) 4/20/2002 3:27:25 AM From: Jorj X Mckie Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 6346 This won't cause a run on the banks in Argentina....LOL. Yeah, declare a bank holiday on Monday so that people can't get their money out of the bank. Really, they aren't going to panic and line up at the doors on Tuesday...we promise. Argentina to Call Banking Holiday Monday, Banks Say Buenos Aires, April 19 (Bloomberg) -- Argentina plans to call a holiday to close banks starting Monday until Congress passes legislation to stop an outflow of deposits, the Argentine Banks Association said in an internal memo. Central Bank Vice President Aldo Pignanelli told the association's executive board of the decision this afternoon, according to a copy the memo obtained by Bloomberg News. The association confirmed it sent the message to members. A central bank spokeswoman declined to comment. Argentines have pulled as much as 350 million pesos ($111 million) day from banks this week, in part by obtaining court injunctions against the government's freeze on accounts, economists estimate. The peso dropped more than 4 percent to 3.13 per dollar in a third day of declines. President Eduardo Duhalde plans to send a bill to Congress as early as this weekend that would convert blocked deposits into government bonds and halt further withdrawals, presidential spokesman Eduardo Amadeo said on TodoNoticias television. Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov and Central Bank President Mario Blejer arrived in Washington D.C. today for the International Monetary Fund's spring meeting, where they hope to convince the fund and U.S. officials the country can meet conditions for new loans. Remes Lenicov has scheduled some 19 meetings over three days, including with U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice today. Remes declined to make comments to reporters after his meeting with O'Neill. Message 17358491