General guidelines
In accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of its Organic Charter, the first objective of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) is to ensure the monetary stability of Argentina. Based on this, during 2016 significant efforts have been made to consolidate a sustained disinflation process, laying the foundations for the establishment of a formal inflation targeting regime of between 12% and 17% for 2017, 8% to 12% for 2018 and 5% for 2019.
Second, it is an objective of the BCRA to maintain the stability of the financial system and promote its growth. In this regard, in 2016 a series of initiatives were launched to stimulate savings in national currency, facilitate access to credit and increase the scope and efficiency of the financial system. This is in line with the mandate of Article 3 of the Organic Charter, since development with social equity requires a financial system deep enough to make it possible to channel savings into investment and the provision of resources for anyone who owns a productive project, thus guaranteeing greater equality of opportunities.
The third axis of management of the BCRA consists of promoting banking penetration, thus facilitating the function of electronic money as a means of payment. In this regard, and in line with the global trend, in 2016 measures were taken to encourage the massive use of new available technologies in the payment system. This contributes to economic development because it hinders organized crime, drug trafficking and money laundering, while promoting the formalization of the economy, generating greater equity in the distribution of tax burdens in society.
With these guiding guidelines, the BCRA presents this report, in compliance with the provisions of Article 10 of its Organic Charter.
