The company still operates at a profit, and analysts say it might have gotten by without the Slim loan, but could not afford to take the risk because borrowing could be even harder in six months or a year.
Money raised through a sale-leaseback and Mr. Slim's loan are intended to help make those payments and pay down the revolving credit.
Restructure the loans and slim the company down to a profitable core?
Among other consequences, Argentaria lags badly in retail banking and earns slimmer margins on its loans (see table).The biggest piece of Argentaria is Banco Exterior, which accounts for 40% of the group's loans and 56% of its total assets.
Last week the administration effectively abandoned a proposal to slim down the federal student loan program after an outcry from Democrats and Republicans.
THE New York Times has escaped the dire cash-flow situation it faced in early 2009, and is exercising an early repayment option on the $250m loan from Carlos Slim that kept it afloat.
While the number of buyers willing to invest in eight- and nine-figure homes has always been slim, a pullback in jumbo loan-financing has shrunk the pool even further.
With slim prospects of well-paid work, loans are an effective prison, keeping the recent graduate from fully exploring their options.
Two days later, JPMorgan agreed to permanently bar the sale of the loan to any of Mr. Slim's companies.
The number of banks arranging syndicated loans in Asia has been slimmed by mergers, and by the withdrawal from the region of some banks.
