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Luis Caputo

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Luis Caputo
Caputo in 2024
Minister of Economy
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 December 2023
PresidentJavier Milei
Preceded bySergio Massa
President of the Central Bank of Argentina
In commission[a]
In office
14 June 2018 – 25 September 2018
Preceded byFederico Sturzenegger
Succeeded byGuido Sandleris
Minister of Finance
In office
10 January 2017 – 14 June 2018[1]
PresidentMauricio Macri
Preceded byAlfonso Prat-Gay
Personal details
Born (1965-04-21) 21 April 1965 (age 59)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Political partyLa Libertad Avanza (since 2024)
Other political
affiliations		Republican Proposal (2015–2024)
Juntos por el Cambio (2015–2024)
Alma materUniversity of Buenos Aires

Luis Andrés "Toto" Caputo (born 21 April 1965) is an Argentine economist who is the current Minister of Economy under Javier Milei's presidency, having assumed office on 10 December 2023.[2] He previously served as Minister of Public Finances from 2017 to 2018 and President of the Central Bank of Argentina in 2018.[3][4]

Early life and education

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Caputo completed his primary and secondary studies at the catholic and bilingual La Salle College. He graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires.

His cousin, Nicolás Caputo, is a construction industry entrepreneur close to Mauricio Macri.[5]

Academics

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Caputo was a professor of economics and finance in the postgraduate course of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.

Finances

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Caputo served as Chief of Trading for Latin America at JP Morgan between 1994 and 1998, and he held the same position for Eastern Europe and Latin America at Deutsche Bank between 1998 and 2003. From then until 2008 he was chairman of the Argentine branch of Deutsche Bank.

Secretary and Minister of Finances

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In December 2015 Caputo assumed the position of Secretary of Finances of the Macri's administration.

During his tenure he played a key role together with Alfonso Prat Gay in the negotiation with the hedge funds, where the country agreed to pay 9.352 million US dollars and Argentina returned to international capital markets and guaranteed external financing in a difficult context as a result of the default inherited from Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.[5]

On 26 December 2016, after the dismissal of Alfonso Prat-Gay by President Macri, the Ministry of Treasury and Public Finance was split in two, with Caputo being appointed Minister of Finance in January 2017.[6]

He continued to take on the task of ensuring the arrival of the necessary funds to face the fiscal deficit. His deep knowledge of international finance and direct contact with interlocutors on Wall Street are highlighted.[7]

President of Central Bank

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On 14 June, Caputo became President of the BCRA. His main challenge was to contain inflation, results that Sturzenegger's administration did not achieve in 2018.[8]

Caputo was in the midst of a context of mistrust in the economic program. He increased the interest rate from 20% and Argentine peso was devalued 40% in three months during its administration.[9]

He oversaw a dramatic reduction in BRCA debt in the form of LEBAC bills, a move considered to be an important achievement.[9]

Meanwhile, the BCRA's reserves in June were $45 billion and, upon announcing its resignation, it reached $49 billion (considering here the IMF's money inflow).[9]

He resigned on 25 September 2018 "for personal reasons", during a negotiation with the International Monetary Fund and internal policies, and was replaced by the Secretary of Economic Policy of the Ministry of Treasury, Guido Sandleris.[10][11]

Argentine stocks and bonds fell after his departure from the Central Bank.[12]

Controversies

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On 2017, a government branch of the Fiscal Ministry opened a judicial case accusing Caputo of embezzling money from a Social Security fund by paying fees of at least 540,000 AR$ to a company he had owned and directed until 2015, in lieu of services that were unnecessary.[13][14][15]

On 5 November 2017, the Paradise Papers, a set of confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investment, revealed that Caputo had managed at least two offshore wealth funds.[16] Neither the Cayman Islands–based Alto Global Fund nor its Miami-based parent company, Noctua Partners LLC, were listed in Caputo's financial disclosure statement, a statement that all public officials and candidates for office are required to make.[16] He told Argentine members of the ICIJ team that "it was an investment fund for friends and family."[16]

The funds, opened in 2009 and with over $100 million under management, remained under Caputo's management until December 2015, when Macri named him Finance Secretary, a post upgraded to Finance Minister in January 2017.[16]

Other activities

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Notes

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  1. ^ His appointment never passed in the Senate.

References

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  1. ^ Editorial, Reuters (14 June 2018). "UPDATE 1-Argentina's finance minister named head of central bank". Reuters. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ "Boletín Oficial República Argentina - Ministerio de Economía - Decreto 5/2023". www.boletinoficial.gob.ar. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Le pidieron la renuncia a Alfonso Prat-Gay: dividen el ministerio y asumen Nicolás Dujovne y Luis Caputo". Clarín. 26 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Argentina's Central Bank President Resigns". Wall Street Journal. Lewis Jeffrey T. and Dube Ryan. 25 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b Clarín (26 December 2016). "Quién es Luis Caputo, el hombre que arregló con los buitres".
  6. ^ "Luis Caputo juró como Ministro de Finanzas". 10 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Luis Caputo, el millonario amigo de los buitres - Un hombre del JP Morgan". Página 12. 26 December 2016.
  8. ^ Patrick Gillespie and Carolina Millan (14 June 2018). "Luis Caputo Replaces Sturzenegger as Argentina Cenbank President". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "Así fueron los 103 días de Luis Caputo en el Banco Central - LA NACION". La Nación.
  10. ^ "El acuerdo con el FMI precipitó la renuncia de Luis Caputo en el BCRA - LA NACION". La Nación.
  11. ^ "Argentina names Sandleris as new central bank chief". Reuters. 25 September 2018. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Caen las acciones y los bonos argentinos tras la salida de Luis Caputo - LA NACION". La Nación.
  13. ^ "Denuncian a Caputo por presuntas irregularidades con fondos de la ANSES - el Cronista". 7 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Denuncian que ANSES pagó comisiones por $540.000 al exfondo del ministro Luis Caputo". 5 January 2018.
  15. ^ "La UFISES denunció al ministro Luis Caputo por presuntas operaciones irregulares en el Fondo de Garantía de Sustentabilidad".
  16. ^ a b c d "Paradise Papers salpicó al Gobierno de Macri: el ministro Luis Caputo manejó inversiones en Islas Caimán". Peril. 5 November 2017.
  17. ^ Board of Governors Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).
  18. ^ Board of Governors Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World Bank Group.
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Economy
2023–present 		Incumbent
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