§ Mr. Hordernasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table showing the value of commercial bills issued by Argentine entities that are held by British banks and are still outstanding and whether any instructions have been issued.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneThe Treasury's directions issued on 4 April under the Emergency Laws (Re-enactments and224W Repeals) Act 1964 had the effect inter alia of preventing the acceptance of new bills of exchange drawn by Argentine residents from that date, and so cut off Argentine entities from this source of credit. This was emphasised in the Bank of England's notice EL1, issued on 13 April. Bills drawn by Argentine residents and accepted before 3 April have, of course, yet to mature and some can still be found in the market. However, banks whose bills are eligible for discount at the Bank of England have withdrawn from the market bills drawn by Argentine residents.
Given that in every case the Argentine drawer has already gained the full benefit from the acceptance of these pre-3 April bills, the United Kingdom authorities permit the use of blocked Argentine funds, where available, to honour these bills on maturity. The United Kingdom acceptor is, of course, bound to pay the bill on maturity if the Argentine drawer does not do so, for whatever reason. The authorities' practice is set out in the Bank of England's notice EL1. Figures for the total value of claims of United Kingdom banks—including the United Kingdom offices of foreign banks—on Argentina, in sterling and foreign currency, in form of bills drawn on promissory notes issued by Argentine residents and acceptances given on behalf of Argentine residents are as follows:
£ million End December 1981 End March 1982 Sterling claims 97 99 Foreign currency claims 76 77 173 176 The comparable figures for British banks excluding the United Kingdom offices of foreign banks are:
£ million End December 1981 End March 1982 Sterling claims 95 88 Foreign currency claims 38 42 133 130