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       T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                 L A T I N   A M E R I C A

          Wednesday, November 27, 2019, Vol. 20, No. 237

                           Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

ARGENTINA: Creditors Jockey For Lead Ahead of $100BB Debt Talks


B O L I V I A

BOLIVIA: Interim President Signs Law Convening New Elections


D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Pension System Has 47.5% of Country's Workers


H A I T I

HAITI: IMF Facility Program Shelved Due to Political Crisis


M E X I C O

CONSUBANCO SA: Fitch Affirms BB- LT IDRs, Outlook Stable
CREDITO REAL: Fitch Affirms BB+ LT IDRs, Outlook Stable
CYDSA SAB: Fitch Affirms BB+ LT IDRs, Outlook Stable
MEXICO: GDP Shows Zero Growth in 3rd Quarter
MEXICO: IMF OKs US$61 Billion Flexible Credit Line Arrangement

RUBEN JASSO: Unsecureds to Recover Up to 37.33% Under Plan


N I C A R A G U A

NICARAGUA: Fitch Affirms B- LT IDR; Alters Outlook to Stable
NICARAGUA: Real GDP Fell by 3.8% in 2018 on Social Unrest


P U E R T O   R I C O

JJE INC: Asks Court to Extend Plan & Disclosure Filing


V E N E Z U E L A

VENEZUELA: Cybercrime Rates Pick up as the Economy Plummets

                           - - - - -


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A R G E N T I N A
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ARGENTINA: Creditors Jockey For Lead Ahead of $100BB Debt Talks
---------------------------------------------------------------
Karin Strohecker, Marc Jones, Rodrigo Campos, Cassandra Garrison at
Reuters report that several factions of Argentina's bondholders are
jostling for influence ahead of restructuring talks with incoming
president Alberto Fernandez as Latin America's third-largest
economy tries to avert a default, more than a dozen sources
familiar with the process said.

Argentina is once again buckling under the weight of its sovereign
debts, which total around $100 billion, and Fernandez needs to
urgently agree a deal with creditors to ease the burden and give
his government space to try to revive the economy, according to
Reuters.

Several investors told Reuters they are growing increasingly
annoyed by a lack of clarity on the plans of the new government,
which is set to take over on Dec. 10.  Fernandez has not yet named
his economic team or said how he will deal with the debts, which
have become painfully costly after a collapse of the peso, the
report says.

"The general frustration is how slow the incoming administration
has been to name people and get the ball rolling," a source at a
large fixed income investor that holds Argentine debt said, adding
that with more clarity things could change "fairly quickly," the
report notes.

Fernandez told the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) head
Kristalina Georgieva he has a "sustainable" plan to meet creditor
obligations as well as maintain growth, without giving details, the
report says.

A creditor committee of at least 20 members was formed last month
as bondholders look for ways to avoid losses, which could reach
tens of billions of dollars, on their holdings, the report notes.

A second group is now being assembled, led by U.S.-based emerging
markets-focused investment manager Gramercy, three sources said,
amid differences over the way forward, the report discloses.

A third group of mostly hedge funds holding bonds restructured
after a prior Argentine default was also being brought together,
sources said, the report relays.

Gramercy has previous experience in Argentina, where its distressed
debt chief investment officer Robert Koenigsberger was involved in
debt talks in 2009, the report notes.

Several bondholders said a range of proposals for bundling
creditors were circulating, although some said they would rather
stick to a larger single group controlling a bigger debt slice, the
report relays.

The process of organizing creditors is still in the early stages
and it is not clear how much of Argentina's debt each grouping
represents at this stage, the report says.

The report discloses that Gramercy's proposal, which also involves
emerging markets investment manager Macrosynergy Partners, has put
together a number of possible scenarios, three sources familiar
with the plans said.

One of these includes an extension of maturities to ease the
pressure on Argentina's struggling finances, but no write-down, the
report notes.

"The group's preferred scenario is to get a five-year extension,
but there is no haircut," one of the sources said, the report
relays.

The IMF says that until the new government sets an economic path it
cannot decide if private creditor haircuts are needed to keep its
$57 billion bailout program in place, the report notes.

"In the absence of the whole macroeconomic strategy it is very hard
to judge how their operation would lead to a sustainable debt
position," Alejandro Werner, head of the Western Hemisphere
Department at the IMF, said at an event in New York, the report
notes.

"Once you have the policy proposals you can judge what kind of debt
operation is consistent with those policies," he added, the report
relays.

The last major default by Argentina in 2001 tipped the country of
44 million people into years of recession and economic crisis from
which it only emerged in 2015, the report says.

Argentine bonds, almost 80% of which are denominated in foreign
currency, were given a small lift by Fernandez's comments, but they
are still trading at less than half their face value, the report
notes.

And the peso is the world's worst performing currency this year,
despite being propped up by capital controls put in place in
September, weeks after Fernandez's shock victory in a primary
election sparked financial market panic, the report adds.

                       About Argentina

Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of South
America.  It's capital is Buenos Aires. Alberto Angel Fernandez is
the President-elect of Argentina after winning the October 2019
general election. He succeeded Mauricio Macri in the position.

Argentina has the third largest economy in Latin America.  The
country's economy is an upper middle-income economy for fiscal year
2019 according to the World Bank.  Historically, however, its
economic performance has been very uneven, with high economic
growth alternating with severe recessions, income maldistribution
and -- in the recent decades -- increasing poverty.

Standard & Poor's foreign and local currency sovereign credit
ratings for Argentina stands at CCC- with negative outlook. S&P
said, "The negative outlook reflects the prominent downside risks
to payment of debt on time and in full per our criteria over the
coming months amid very complex political, economic, and financial
market dynamics."  Moody's credit rating for Argentina was last set
at Caa2 from B2 with under review outlook. Fitch's credit rating
for Argentina was last reported at CC with n/a outlook. DBRS's
credit rating for Argentina is CC with under review outlook.  S&P,
Moody's and DBRS ratings were issued on Aug. 30, 2019; Fitch rating
on Sept. 3, 2019.

Back in July 2014, Argentina defaulted on some of its debt, after
expiration of a 30-day grace period on a US$539 million interest
payment.  The country hasn't been able to access international
credit markets since its US$95 billion default 13 years ago.  On
March 30, 2016, Argentina's Congress passed a bill that will
allow the government to repay holders of debt that the South
American  country defaulted on in 2001, including a group of
litigating hedge  funds that won judgments in a New York court.
The bill passed by a vote of 54-16.



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B O L I V I A
=============

BOLIVIA: Interim President Signs Law Convening New Elections
------------------------------------------------------------
EFE News reports that the law to convene new presidential elections
in Bolivia was promulgated by the country's interim president,
Jenine Anez, who said that the vote would be "clean, fair and
transparent."

Anez emphasized her government's commitment to clean elections,
given the "fraud" that the opposition has claimed was perpetrated
in the Oct. 20 vote in which Evo Morales was re-elected, a
balloting that was annulled by the law promulgated, according to
EFE News.

"God be thanked for this day," were the first words Anez said after
signing the law in the government palace in La Paz, the report
notes.

"It has not been easy to build consensus," she admitted, although
the parliament unanimously approved the law so that Bolivians "may
elect without fraud, deception and blackmail" a new president,
along with other officials, the report relays.

The consensus was reached in the face of the "obscure machinations
(by) the government of former President Evo Morales," the
provisional president said, the report discloses.

"God always provides, the time for reconciliation has come. May God
bless all of Bolivia," she said, in closing her remarks, the report
notes.

One of the first elements of the new law, which is exceptional and
temporary, is to annul the vote in which Morales was declared to
have won a fourth consecutive term in office, the report says.

Another is to establish that the next election will be held within
120 days, starting from the point that a new electoral
organizational body can be elected by the Bolivian parliament, the
report relays.

The upcoming elections will be held according to a new framework,
after the earlier vote sparked complaints of irregularities, and
with all parties that want to participate, the report notes.

One of the key articles of the law is that winning candidates may
not serve for more than two consecutive terms, the report says.

EFE News notes that the opposition agreed to the earlier election
despite the fact that they felt Morales's candidacy was illegal
because it did not respect the two-term limit, even though his
re-election candidacy has been approved by the former electoral
body.

Many of the former electoral body's members were taken into
preventive custody by Bolivian authorities so that the alleged
fraud perpetrated in the Oct. 20 vote could be investigated, the
report discloses.

The law also temporarily suspends other rules to make holding the
upcoming vote easier, the report says.

Anez signed the law in the presence of Bolivian Senate president
Eva Copa, who is a member of Morales' MAS socialist party, which
holds a majority in parliament, the report relays.

The law was approved unanimously, with all MAS and opposition
lawmakers in both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies voting in
favor of it, the report notes.

Although no date has been set, it is anticipated that the vote for
president, vice president and lawmakers will be held in early 2020,
the report relays.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Nov.
26, 2019, Fitch Ratings downgraded Bolivia's Long-Term Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Rating to 'B+' from 'BB-'. The Rating
Outlook remains Negative.



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D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C
===================================

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Pension System Has 47.5% of Country's Workers
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that the individual capitalization pension
system, labeled by the Juan Bosch Foundation as "the assault of the
century," as of June 30, 2019, had only 47.5% of the country's
workers. And since its inception, that density of contributors has
not significantly improved, but worsened.

This is stated in the Foundation's publication "From the secure
business to social security," by Matias Bosch Carcuro and Airon
Fernandez Gil, according to Dominican Today.

They explain that this low density means that there is a sector of
the workers, which, although registered in the system, does not
include regular quotas, mainly due to "job instability and
insecurity in the Dominican economy," the report notes.

In December 2003, the year the system started, the density was
58.5%, and despite some fluctuations, it has continued to fall, the
report adds.

                  About Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island
of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. Capital city Santo Domingo
has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America
dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district.

The Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America reported on April 4,
2019 that the Dominican Today related that Juan Del Rosario of the
UASD Economic Faculty cited a current economic slowdown for the
Dominican Republic and cautioned that if the trend continues,
growth would reach only 4% by 2023. Mr. Del Rosario said that if
that happens, "we'll face difficulties in meeting international
commitments."

An ongoing concern in the Dominican Republic is the inability of
participants in the electricity sector to establish financial
viability for the system.

Standard & Poor's credit rating for Dominican Republic stands at
BB- with stable outlook (2015). Moody's credit rating for
Dominican Republic was last set at Ba3 with stable outlook (2017).
Fitch's credit rating for Dominican Republic was last reported at
BB- with stable outlook (2016).



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H A I T I
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HAITI: IMF Facility Program Shelved Due to Political Crisis
-----------------------------------------------------------
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Ms. Nicole
Laframboise, met with Haitian authorities in Port au Prince and
Washington to conduct discussions on the Article IV Consultation.
Upon conclusion of the meetings, Ms. Laframboise issued the
following statement:

"We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Haitian
authorities, government officials and representatives of the
private sector and civil society for their time and assistance over
the past two weeks. They made it possible to undertake this
consultation, in spite of a very challenging situation in Haiti.

"The political, economic, and social crisis confronting Haiti is
without precedent. As a consequence of repeated lock-downs in the
country in November 2018 and February, June, and September 2019,
growth for the 2019 fiscal year is expected to be negative, at
about -1.2 percent, while inflation rose to above 20 percent at
end-September. This has worsened poverty and insecurity and
deprived the government of the means to make productive investments
and support activity.

"The ad referendum program agreed with Fund staff under the
Extended Credit Facility (ECF) in March was shelved because of the
absence of a government ratified by Parliament and able to commit
the country to an economic reform program. This also led to the
suspension of most external financial assistance.

"The staff outlook assumes a stabilization of the political
situation but no fundamental political or economic reforms-which
are unrealistic to assume at this juncture. Over the course of
2020, this would permit output to stabilize before a slight
resumption of growth to around 0.9 percent in 2021. Under this
scenario of low growth and external assistance, inflation is
expected to remain close to 20 percent over the next two years.
Likewise, potential growth is estimated at 1.5 percent per year
over the longer term.

"It is important to note that a continuation of the current
political crisis would have devastating consequences for the
country over the longer-term owing to the likely losses of physical
and human capital.

On the other hand, a rapid resolution to the crisis could lead to a
strong rebound in activity. The appointment of a government
committed to reforming the economy and the resumption of support
from the international community would permit a loosening of
budgetary constraints and an increase in public spending-investment
in particular. This would reduce the need for financing from the
central bank, thereby helping to lower inflation and boost growth
in the short and medium-term.

"The immediate priority should be to stabilize the economy. In the
absence of a formal budget submission to parliament, it is critical
that the government prepare and publish a budget framework for 2020
as soon as possible. This notional budget should include measures
to boost domestic revenues by strengthening tax administration and
collection and reducing tax exemptions and take steps to
rationalize non-priority spending.

We commend the authorities for adhering to the economic governance
agreement between the central bank (BRH) and the Ministry of
Economy and Finance which contributed to stabilizing inflation and
the exchange rate over the summer. Renewal of this agreement would
be key to again limiting monetary financing of the budget deficit,
a key source of inflation.

"Staff commend the authorities for their efforts to finalize the
draft of the National Plan for Social Protection and Social
Progress (PNPPS) and urge the Council of Ministers to formally
adopt this policy. The PNPPS should reduce the fragmentation and
overlap of existing programs which at present lead to
inefficiencies and hinder their effectiveness. IMF staff recommend
establishing, within the PNPPS framework, a limited number of cash
transfer programs for vulnerable groups--under the auspices of the
Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST)--and to launch a pilot
program as soon as possible.

"Combating corruption is another short-term priority. The
Anti-Corruption Unit (L'Unite de Lutte Contre la Corruption, or
ULCC) should be granted the legal and financial means to enable it
to carry out its mandate in full. The government should set up the
Steering Committee conceived under the 2009 National
Anti-Corruption Strategy, importantly with independent
representatives from civil society, and it should participate in
the drafting of the new anti-corruption strategy. In addition, the
asset reporting obligations of elected officials, senior public
servants, and judges--as stipulated in legislation (February 12,
2008)--must be enforced. Finally, as part of key anti-money
laundering measures to support anti-corruption efforts, banks
should meet their obligations to "verify and know their customers",
particularly politically exposed persons.

"We sincerely hope that political stability will return and allow
the government to build a consensus with key stakeholders in the
country on a package of more extensive reforms in the areas of
public finance management, governance, the structure and
functioning of the energy sector, and the social safety net.

Haiti has the potential for much stronger and more inclusive
growth. The IMF continues to provide policy advice and technical
assistance, and stands ready to help with more intensive support
when political conditions permit."



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M E X I C O
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CONSUBANCO SA: Fitch Affirms BB- LT IDRs, Outlook Stable
--------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings affirmed Consubanco, S.A., Institucion de Banca
Multiple's Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default
Ratings at 'BB-' and Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency Ratings
at 'B'. The Rating Outlook for the long-term ratings is Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRS, VR, NATIONAL RATINGS AND SENIOR DEBT

Consubanco's IDRs and National Ratings are driven by its intrinsic
creditworthiness, as reflected in its 'bb-' VR. The bank's company
profile and business model as well as its improved funding profile
highly influence the bank's VR. Consubanco's ratings also factor
its good profitability, reasonable capital adequacy position and
well-contained delinquency ratios. Also, the bank's ratings are
constrained by the challenging operating and competitive
environment of its niche business segment, and the operational and
political risks inherent to its business model.

The bank has a well-recognized franchise in payroll-deductible
loans to public sector employees and a consolidated business model,
although concentrated by product and with a modest size in respect
to the financial system. In Fitch's view, its long track record and
the stability of its business model have allowed the bank to
continue to grow its portfolio and strengthen its franchise over
time.

Consubanco's liquidity profile has been improved mainly due to the
strengthening of its liquidity risk management since 2018 when the
bank performed structural changes in the maturity of its funding to
reduce asset-liability tenor mismatches. In 2019 the bank continues
to reinforce its funding through short and long-term issuances and
with a growing deposit base which represented at third-quarter 2019
(3Q19) around 40.9% of total funding and registered an inter-annual
growth of 40.2%. At 3Q19, the weighted average maturity (WAM) of
its funding stood at 40 months, which compares positively with 2017
(2Q17: 7 months). The WAM of the loan portfolio remained around 37
months at 3Q19. The funding and liquidity analysis also
incorporates the approach of the non-bank criteria given the
funding structure of the entity that is adequate in comparison with
rated NBFIs since around 79% of its funding sources are unsecured
but with less diversification. In Fitch perspective, funding
remains as a challenge for the bank, in terms of diversification
and being less dependent on a market-reliant funding, which is more
sensitive to investor confidence.

The asset quality metrics of Consubanco continue showing a moderate
improvement; the bank's NPL's, which includes accounts receivables
from employees more than 90 days past due, has been decreasing in
the last years and stood at 4.8% as of 3Q19 (2018: 6%) due to the
strategy implemented in the past years to focus on public entities
whose payroll disbursement are made by the federal government and
appropriate underwriting standards. Individual borrower
concentrations are not relevant due to the company's retail nature.
However, the bank presents high concentrations by employer; the
largest 20 agreements represented around 35.8% of the company's
total assets and 2.7 x its FCC.

As of September 2019, the bank's lower loan impairment charges and
improved operational efficiency have contributed to improvements in
its profitability ratios. Operating Profit to Risk Weighted Assets
(RWAs) reached 4.7% at September 2019; this compares better than
the last two years (2018 and 2017: 3% and 3.7%, respectively).
Albeit, Fitch expects Consubanco will continue to focus on reducing
its funding costs due its recent growing base of deposits,
stabilizing profitability metrics at current levels will be an
important challenge for the bank, considering the aggressive
competition in the sector.

Consubanco's capitalization and leverage metrics remain at
appropriate levels, benefiting in recent years from slower loan
growth couple with recurrent income generation. As of September
2019 its FCC to RWA ratio stood at 15.1%, higher than previous
years (average 2018-2016: 12.6%). At 3Q19 its total Regulatory
Capital ratio stood at 23.8%, well above minimum requirements.
While capitalization levels could be pressured in the near future
by the dividend distribution plans, Fitch expects this metric will
remain appropriate for the current rating level given its capacity
to generate profits and the objective of the bank of maintaining
regulatory capital above 15%.

Due to the bank's business model concentration on payroll deducted
loans, it is exposed to operational, political and event risk. The
willingness and ability of public sector entities to fully disburse
retained collections usually impact asset quality and liquidity,
but Fitch believes Consubanco has partially mitigated this risk
given that around 79% of its loan portfolio corresponds to federal
entities, which tend to be operationally efficient and exhibit
virtually null delays in transferring payments. Also, the recent
change to income/risk sharing agreements with distributors could
decrease its exposure to this risk in the medium term.

The ratings of the senior local debts are at the same level as
Consubanco's ratings of 'A-(mex)', as the likelihood of default of
the notes is the same as the one of the bank.

SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR

Consubanco's support rating (SR) and support rating floor (SRF) of
'5' and 'NF', respectively, are driven by its low systemic
importance; as of September 2019 its deposits were around 0.1% of
the Mexican banking system. They also reflect Fitch's opinion that
government support to the bank, although possible, cannot be relied
upon.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

IDRS, VR, NATIONAL RATINGS AND SENIOR DEBT

An upgrade is possible if the bank is able to maintain its recent
improvements in funding and liquidity management. Continued
diversifying its funding base, with a greater relative contribution
of retail deposits and/or credit facilities will be positive for
the ratings. Further material strengthening of its franchise,
profitability and capitalization could also be credit positive over
time.

The bank's ratings could be downgraded upon an increase in its risk
appetite related to its liquidity risk management or due to a
reduction in its loan quality metrics that significantly impacts
its operating profitability, internal capital generation, or if its
FCC to RWA ratio (adjusted for capitalized fee expenses) falls
consistently below 11%. A material impact derived from negative
developments in political and business risks could also affect the
ratings.

Local senior debt ratings of Consubanco would mirror any changes in
the bank's National scale ratings.

SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR

Given the bank's limited systemic importance and the almost
incipient penetration of deposits, Fitch believes that the SR and
SRF are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL ADJUSTMENTS

Account Receivables from employers are reclassified as loans, with
those overdue by more 90 days classified as impaired. Loan loss
reserves are increased by the amount of reserves related to these
account receivables. Capitalized fee expenses and other deferred
assets are deducted from Fitch Core Capital.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of 3. ESG issues are credit neutral
or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to
their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the
entity.

CREDITO REAL: Fitch Affirms BB+ LT IDRs, Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings affirmed Credito Real, S.A.B. de C.V., SOFOM,
E.N.R.'s Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default
Ratings at 'BB+', and Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency Ratings
at 'B'. In addition, Credito Real's long- and short-term National
Scale ratings were affirmed at 'A+(mex)' and 'F1(mex)',
respectively. The Rating Outlook for the Long-term ratings is
Stable.

The company's ratings of its global senior debt and perpetual bonds
were also affirmed.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRs, NATIONAL RATINGS AND SENIOR DEBT

Credito Real's ratings are highly influenced by its industry
leading franchise in the payroll deductible loans business in
Mexico, and a proven and resilient business model which has
historically resulted in better than peer's asset quality for the
segment and an ability to generate high and recurring earnings. The
ratings are also significantly influenced by the company´s
high-risk appetite due to the operational, political and
reputational risks inherent to its payroll business and rapid
balance sheet growth.

In Fitch's view, Credito Real´s sound company profile supports its
resilient financial performance through economic cycles. Although
profitability further decreased as of September 2019 (3Q19) it
still remains strong relative to other rated non-bank financial
institutions (NBFIs) and closest peers. The pre-tax income to
average assets ratio was 4.5% as of the 3Q19, down from the four
year average of 6.6%. Reduction in profitability is explained by
higher interest expenses, the increasing participation of lower
yield loans, and exchange rate losses (mostly non-cash items) that
add certain volatility to earnings.

Credito Real's asset quality is commensurate to its rating category
and compares better than its direct peers. As of 3Q19, the adjusted
impaired loan metric (impaired loans plus 12-months charge-offs)
decreased to 4.6% from a trailing four-year average of 6.6%
(benefited by recent improvements in its Central American
operations). The adjusted impaired loan ratio for the amounts owed
by distributors stood at 5.7% as of 3Q19 and 8.4% if charge-offs
are considered.

Fitch believes Credito Real has a healthy capital and leverage
position given its recurrent earnings generation through the
economic cycle. The company's leverage ratio (debt to tangible
equity) was 4.0x at 3Q19, similar to the four-year average of 3.9x.
This metric considers the hybrids securities, which received 50%
equity credit as per Fitch's criteria. The agency expects that,
despite lower profitability, Credito Real leverage metric will
remain consistent with its current rating category.

Credito Real funding is concentrated in wholesale sources; however,
the entity has a more diversified funding sources and a better
unsecured debt structure than local peers. Access to unsecured
sources supports its flexible funding, as of 3Q19 the unsecured
debt to total debt stood at 82.5% (including the 50% of the hybrids
considered as debt by Fitch) a sound level that compares favorably
with peers. At the same date unencumbered assets covered 1.3x
unsecured debt also reflecting the company´s funding flexibility.

The company has been careful in improving its management of
refinancing risk along 2019, after the less conservative than peers
process of refinancing global debt it had at the beginning of the
year. In October 2019, the company placed a new debt global
issuance that allowed it to extend its maturity profile, reducing
short-term refinancing needs. Long-term refinancing risk remains,
due to the bullet maturity nature of the global bonds. However,
Credito Real has credit lines with 15 banks that provide both long-
and short-term credit facilities; the agency believes that its
undrawn credit lines remain low.

The rating of the senior global debt is at the same level as
Credito Real's rating of 'BB+' as the likelihood of default of the
notes is the same as the one of the company.

HYBRID SECURITIES

Credito Real's subordinated notes are rated two notches below its
Long-Term IDR. The two-notch differential represents incremental
risk relative to the entity's IDRs, reflecting the increased loss
severity due to its subordination and heightened risk of
non-performance relative to existing senior obligations.

The Hybrid qualifies for 50% equity as it meets Fitch's criteria
with regard to the ability to defer coupon payments, the existence
of a coupon step-up of 500 basis points (bps) in the event of a
change of control and its perpetual nature. The terms of the
issuance incorporate a feature that according to Fitch's criteria
may be considered an effective maturity date 15 years after the
first call date, due to the existence of a cumulative step-up
greater that 100 bps. This could lead Fitch to stop assigning
equity credit five years prior to such effective maturity date.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

IDRs, NATIONAL RATINGS AND SENIOR UNSECURED DEBT

The Credito Real's ratings could be downgraded if its profitability
considerably deteriorates and its debt to tangible equity ratio
increases to levels consistently above 6.0x. Increased unhedged
exposure to foreign currency debt and a deterioration of its
funding and liquidity position could also adversely affect
ratings.

Fitch believes upside potential for Credito Real's ratings is
limited in the short term. However, an upgrade could be triggered
if the company significantly enhances its franchise, while it
continues diversifying its business model with greater flexibility
of its funding mix. In addition, if the company can sustain strong
profitability and a debt to tangible equity ratio below 4.0x, an
upgrade may occur.

Additionally, the upgrade would be contingent on the company's
ability to materially improve its funding flexibility in the form
of larger back-up liquidity facilities that acts as a cushion in
times of market stress, considering its reliance on wholesale
funding.

Credito Real's global senior debt ratings would mirror any changes
in the company's IDR, or could be downgraded below the company's
IDRs if the level of unencumbered assets substantially deteriorates
subordinating the bondholders to other debt.

HYBRID SECURITIES

Credito Real's subordinated notes rating is primarily sensitive to
a change in Credito Real's IDR. Fitch expects that under most
circumstances the notes will remain rated two notches below the
IDR.

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL ADJUSTMENTS

Pre-paid expenses were reclassified as other intangibles and
deducted from Fitch Core Capital. Results from investments in
associates were reclassified as operating income. The extraordinary
gain that resulted from the early amortization of derivatives in
2016 was reclassified as non-recurring. Its legacy operational
lease portfolio was included in gross loans, with the portion of
delinquent leases classified as impaired loans. The coupons of the
perpetual notes were reclassified as interests.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of 3 - ESG issues are credit
neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either
due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by
the entity.

Credito Real has an ESG Relevance Score of 4 for Customer Welfare -
Fair Messaging, Privacy & Data Security due to its exposure to
reputational and operational risks as its main business targets
government employees and dependencies at relatively high rates,
which has a negative impact on the credit profile and is relevant
to the rating in conjunction with other factors.

Credito Real has an ESG Relevance Score of 4 for Exposure to Social
Impacts due to its exposure to a shift in social or consumer
preferences or to government regulation of its lending offer, this
has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the
ratings in conjunction with other factors.

CYDSA SAB: Fitch Affirms BB+ LT IDRs, Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings affirmed Cydsa, S.A.B. de C.V.'s Long-Term Foreign
and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings and senior unsecured debt
at 'BB+'. The Rating Outlook is Stable.

The ratings reflect Cydsa's diversified business profile, low cost
position resulting from recent investments, vertical integration
and strong domestic brand recognition in table salt. The ratings
are tempered by Cydsa's limited geographic diversification, price
volatility of its chlorine and caustic soda business and the
capital intensity of its business lines relative to EBITDA
generation. The ratings also reflect Fitch's expectation that Cydsa
will manage its business growth strategy conservatively to maintain
consolidated net adjusted debt to EBITDA below 3.5x in the
medium-long term.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Diversified Business Profile: Cydsa manufactures and commercializes
salt for household and food industry use as well as chemicals and
refrigerant gases. The company produces primarily caustic soda,
chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, salt and refrigerant gases,
including HCFC-22, and other chemicals. The company's increasing
exposure to the energy processing and logistic segment
(cogeneration and underground storage) has added important
stability to its portfolio, and currently represents around 36% of
its EBITDA, per Fitch's estimates. Its main household salt brand,
La Fina, is the leading salt product in Mexico with very strong
brand awareness among Mexican consumers. Cydsa also provides
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) underground storage services to a
subsidiary of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex; BB+/Negative).

Domestic Player: The company derives around 92% of its revenue
domestically, with most of its assets located in Mexico.
Consequently, Cydsa's financial performance is tied to Mexico's
political and economic development. The company has limited ability
to influence prices of chlorine and caustic soda, which are
volatile and significantly influenced by global supply and demand
dynamics. These products represent about 39% of Cydsa's EBITDA
portfolio on average during the last five years and to some extent
are influenced by demand for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin, which
is widely used in construction and infrastructure and is subject to
demand volatility.

Exposure to Pemex: Cydsa provides LPG storage services to a
subsidiary of Pemex at its salt caverns under a 20-year contract
agreement. This business unit's operating performance has been in
line with expectations and provides an important source of stable
cash flow to Cydsa, partially offsetting the current deterioration
of the caustic soda prices. The development of new caverns,
depending on the speed of the investment or funding strategy,
and/or any changes in the contract or relationship with Pemex could
bring volatility to Cydsa's cash flow and pressure its credit
profile.

Negative FCF: The current scenario of lower caustic soda prices has
been driving a drop in Cydsa's EBITDA generation. For 2019 and
2020, Fitch expects Cydsa to generate EBITDA of MXN2.9 billion and
MXN2.6billion, with EBITDA margins of 28% and 25%, respectively.
These margins are still well above regular chemical producers and
reflect the company's diversified portfolio. Free cash flow (FCF)
generation should remain negative around MXN440 million and MXN232
million over the next two years, mostly due to the lower EBITDA and
ongoing capex oriented to increase operating efficiency. Fitch's
base case scenario assumes growth and efficiency capex of around
USD120 million during the next three years and dividends stable at
around USD12 million.

Leverage to Remain Adequate: Fitch forecasts Cydsa's consolidated
net adjusted debt to EBITDA to move toward 2.5x by YE 2019, and to
3.5x in 2020, reflecting weaker chemical prices and ongoing capex,
and then to decline to 3.3x by 2021. Cydsa's consolidated net
leverage was 2.2x in fiscal 2018 and 2.7x in fiscal 2017.
Considering only the restricted group leverage (salt, caustic soda
and one operation of cogeneration), total leverage is projected to
be around 3.1x in fiscal 2019.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Cydsa is well positioned against small scale chemical producers
with limited regional diversification, which are typically rated in
the low 'BB' or below rating categories. Cydsa's business profile
is more diversified and its cash flows are more stable than
companies such as Grupo IDESA (CCC-) or Unigel Participacoes
(B+/Outlook Stable). Cydsa's diversified business profile is
supported by the strong brand recognition of its household salt
products and its cost position in its chlorine-alkali chain segment
benefits from important investments in technology and the
operations in the energy processing and logistic segment. Larger
and more diversified chemical companies with similar leverage such
as Orbia Advance Corporations, S.A.B. de C.V. (BBB/Stable Outlook)
or Braskem (BBB-/Stable Outlook) are typically rated in the low to
mid 'BBB' category due to their stronger financial market access
and broader geographic diversification. Chemical companies rated in
the 'BBB' category tend to be product leaders across broader
regions, often spanning several continents.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's Key Assumptions Within its Rating Case for the Issuer

  - Cydsa generates annual EBITDA in the range of MXN2.6-2.9
billion over the next two to three years;

  - Deterioration of Caustic Soda price to continue during 2020 and
mi-2021 and stable margins for most of the other business;

  - Fitch incorporates potential capex of around USD120 million in
the next two to three years;

  - Fitch estimates dividends around USD12 million 2020-2021, in
line with average of past five years.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Developments That May, Individually or Collectively, Lead to
Positive Rating Action

  - A rating upgrade is unlikely in the medium term, considering
the company's business and financial profiles.

Developments That May, Individually or Collectively, Lead to
Negative Rating Action

  - Expectation of sustained Fitch-adjusted net debt/EBITDA above
3.5x on a consolidated basis;

  - A further steep decline of chlorine and caustic soda prices
that erodes Cydsa's EBITDA or competitive dynamics, weakening
Cydsa's salt business;

  - Any change or disruption in the contract with Pemex for the
Underground Storage business could pressure the ratings;

  - Large debt-financed acquisitions or investments.

LIQUIDITY

Sound Liquidity: Cydsa has strong liquidity position with no
refinancing risks in the short to medium term. As of Sept. 30 2019,
the company held cash of MXN2.1 billion and around MXN349 million
of short-term debt (including MXN256 million of interest). Cydsa's
financial profile is further supported by MXN1.9 billion of undrawn
committed credit facilities maturing 2020. Cydsa's total
consolidated debt was MXN9.5 billion as of Sep. 30 2019, and mostly
reflects the USD330 million unsecured notes due 2027 (MXN6 billion)
and MXN3billion of secured loans due 2036 that relates to its
underground storage business. This secured loan has non-recourse
clauses to Cydsa.

ESG Commentary

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of 3. ESG issues are credit neutral
or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to
their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the
entity.

FULL LIST OF RATING ACTIONS

Cydsa, S.A.B. de C.V. (Cydsa)

  -- Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at
'BB+';

  -- Local Currency Long-Term IDR at 'BB+';

  -- USD330 million senior unsecured notes at 'BB+'.

The Rating Outlook is Stable.

MEXICO: GDP Shows Zero Growth in 3rd Quarter
--------------------------------------------
EFE News reports that Mexico's gross domestic product (GDP) showed
zero growth in the third quarter of this year compared to the
previous quarter, according to seasonally adjusted figures released
by the National Statistics and Geography Institute (Inegi).

The definitive GDP result is 0.1 percent below the preliminary
figures released on Oct. 30, when the economy was said to have
grown at a mediocre 0.1 percent, according to EFE News.

In the second quarter, Mexico showed zero economic growth, compared
to the first quarter, when the GDP contracted by 0.2 percent from
the last quarter of 2018, a situation that motivated the government
to admit that the country is going through an economic slowdown
bordering on recession, the report notes.

In the third quarter, primary activities increased by 3.3 percent,
secondary activities fell by 0.1 percent and tertiary economic
activities grew by 0.1 percent compared to the April-June quarter,
according to non-seasonally adjusted figures, Inegi said in a
statement obtained by the news agency.

The original figures showed that the GDP fell by 0.3 percent in
this year's third quarter compared to the same period the year
before, and the year-to-date economic activity confirms that the
economy is stagnating with overall growth of zero percent, the
report relays.

Compared with the same period last year, the stagnation in GDP in
the third quarter was ascribed to the drop in secondary economic
activities (-1.4 percent), partially counteracted by the 5.4
percent rise in the primary sector and the 0.1 percent rise in the
tertiary sector.

Inegi also announced that the Global Economic Activity Indicator
(IGAE) for September showed a hike of 0.3 percent compared with
August, in non-seasonally adjusted figures.

Nevertheless, the economic performance for September compared to
the same month last year showed a 0.1 percent rise.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said many times
so far this year that the country's economy would grow by 2 percent
in 2019 and by an average of 4 percent during his six-year term in
office, which will end in 2024.

However, recently he has changed his discourse, saying that
although the economy is not growing this year at the expected clip,
development is progressing and wealth is being redistributed in
Mexico.

So far this year, most analysts have reduced their economic
forecasts for Mexico and currently growth for 2019 is pegged at
around 0.5 percent.

The Mexican government on July 30 announced a plan to provide 485
billion pesos ($25.4 billion) to support the economy and spur
consumption, a decision that was received well by a good portion of
the country's business community.

MEXICO: IMF OKs US$61 Billion Flexible Credit Line Arrangement
--------------------------------------------------------------
On November 22, 2019, the Executive Board of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a successor two-year arrrangement for
Mexico under the Flexible Credit Line (FCL) in an amount equivalent
to SDR 44.5635 billion (about US$61 billion) and canceled the
previous arrangement. The Mexican authorities stated their
intention to treat the arrangement as precautionary.

The previous two-year FCL arrangement for Mexico was approved by
the IMF's Executive Board on November 29, 2017 for an original
access amount equivalent to SDR 62.3889 billion (about US$86
billion), which, at the request of the Mexican authorities, was
reduced to SDR 53.4762 billion (about US$74 billion) on November
26, 2018. Mexico's first FCL arrangement was approved on April 17,
2009, and was renewed on March 25, 2010, January 10, 2011, November
30, 2012, November 26, 2014, and May 27, 2016.

Following the Executive Board's discussion on Mexico, Mr. David
Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, made the
following statement:

"Very strong policies and policy frameworks have helped Mexico
navigate a complex external environment. Fiscal policy has stemmed
the rise in the public debt ratio in the past two years; a very
tight monetary policy stance has helped reduce headline inflation
to the central bank's target; and financial supervision and
regulation are strong. The flexible exchange rate is playing a key
role in the economy's adjustment to external shocks.

"The Mexican economy, nonetheless, remains exposed to external
risks, including renewed volatility in global financial markets,
increased risk premia, and a sharp pull-back of capital from
emerging markets, as well as continued uncertainty about Mexico's
trade relations with the United States. The new arrangement under
the Flexible Credit Line (FCL) will continue to play an important
role in supporting the authorities' macroeconomic strategy by
providing insurance against tail risks and bolstering market
confidence.

"The authorities have a successful record of sound policy
management and are firmly committed to maintaining prudent policies
going forward. They intend to continue to treat the arrangement as
precautionary. The lower level of access is appropriate and
consistent with the authorities' strategy to gradually phase out
Mexico's use of the facility. As external risks facing Mexico
recede, they intend to request a further reduction in access under
the FCL in the future."

RUBEN JASSO: Unsecureds to Recover Up to 37.33% Under Plan
----------------------------------------------------------
Debtor Ruben Jasso Trucking, LLC filed with the Bankruptcy Court
for the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, a Third
Amended Disclosure Statement describing its Third Amended Plan of
Reorganization.

Class 12 General unsecured claims will be paid in 54 installments
of $3,000 each, every month except December and January, commencing
Feb. 15, 2020; plus 10 monthly payments of $1,500 each, on the 15th
days of each December, and January commencing Dec. 15, 2020.  The
total to be paid in the pool is $177,000, or an estimated dividend
of 37.33% to the pool.  Any conflict between the estimated dividend
percentage and the gross $177,000 amount, is to be resolved in
favor of the gross amount.

However, if the result of the ad valorem tax appeal is that RJT has
to pay more than $100,000 in additional payments on Class 3A taxes,
then as that $100,000 is being paid in Class 3A, contemporaneous
payments to Class 12 shall diminish by 50 cents on each dollar for
every dollar of the increase-over $100,000 that RJT has to pay to
Class 3A, spread over the remaining payout to Class 12.  The Class
12 creditors will be notified of the outcome of the appeal of the
Class 3A tax liability within thirty days of its finality.

Mr. Ruben Jasso will retain his managing member interest. In
exchange, on effective date of confirmation, he will infuse into
the Debtor the cash sum of $50,000 from refinancing his Texas
homestead. The $50,000 is to be used to pay priority expenses in
this case, such as court-approved attorney's fees, United States
Trustee's fees, and priority and postpetition taxes, and finally
general unsecured claims if any residual funds are left.  None of
the $50,000 is to be used to benefit insiders of the Debtor.

The sources of the Debtor's payments to creditors will be the
following:

  a. Regular operations, which means receiving vehicle rental from
3NR, LLC.

  b. 35 payments of $3,619 each over the next five years from 3NT,
LLC to recover the debt for $126,666 owed to the Debtor by 3NT,
LLC
as of petition date.

  c. A one-time contribution of $50,000 in cash from Ruben Jasso
as
a new capital for the Debtor on account of the retention of his
membership in the Debtor. The source of the funds is to be a
refinancing of his homestead.

A full-text copy of the Third Amended Plan is available at
https://tinyurl.com/tgw29p5 from PacerMonitor.com at no charge.

                   About Ruben Jasso Trucking

Ruben Jasso Trucking, LLC, is a commercial trucking company.  It
was formed July 10, 2006 by Ruben Jasso and was consistently
profitable for the next nine years, principally serving the
maquiladora-automotive industry along the border between Juarez,
Mexico and El Paso, Texas.  As of the bankruptcy filing, its fleet
of commerical vehicles numbered 45 over-the-road tractors, 47
over-the-road trailers, and 3 local delivery trucks.

Ruben Jasso Trucking filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition
(Bankr.
W.D. Tex. Case No. 18-31630) on Sept. 28, 2018.  In the petition
signed by Ruben Jasso, managing member, the Debtor estimated $1
million to $10 million in assets and liabilities.  The case is
assigned to Judge Christopher H. Mott.  The Debtor hired E.P. Bud
Kirk, Esq., at Law Office of E.P. Bud Kirk, as counsel.



=================
N I C A R A G U A
=================

NICARAGUA: Fitch Affirms B- LT IDR; Alters Outlook to Stable
------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings affirmed Nicaragua's Long-Term Foreign Currency
Issuer Default Rating at 'B-' and revised the Outlook to Stable
from Negative.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The revision of the Outlook reflects the stabilization of central
bank reserves and commercial bank deposits, a significant fiscal
adjustment and social security reform that have reduced domestic
financing needs, and a pronounced external rebalancing that has
eased the external financing requirement. Nicaragua's ratings
reflect its low economic growth prospects and income per capita,
political stability risks, government debt metrics in line with the
'B' median, larger net external debt and external financing
constraints relative to the median.

The political environment has stabilized after serious political
violence in 2018, although significant downside risks remain.
During 2019, the government released some participants apprehended
during the April 2018 demonstrations, and some of the opposition
leaders who fled the country, have returned. The political crisis,
violence, and further centralization of political powers during
2018 are reflected in a 10pp fall in Nicaragua's composite World
Bank governance indicator ranking to 18.2, comparing unfavorably to
the 'B' median of 38.2.

International reserves have stabilized after significant deposit
flight in 2018 and a large current account adjustment. Reserves
were USD2.2 billion in September 2019 (USD190 million of which was
borrowed from Central American Bank for Economic Integration)
equivalent to 3.9 months of current external payments (on par with
the current 'B' median). A sharp contraction of investment and
consumption compressed imports during 2018-2019, while exports held
up and remittances rose, moving the current account into surplus
compared to deficits averaging 6.9% of GDP during 2014-2017. Fitch
expects the current account to remain in surplus over the forecast
period, although it will decline from a projected 2.6% of GDP in
2019 to 2.1% by 2021 as imports increase gradually.

The government has maintained access to external financing, but at
higher interest rates and shorter maturities. The Central American
Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) has filled part of the
external financing gap caused by the U.S. NICA Act's impact on
disbursements from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). In
October, the government signed a new multi-year USD585 million
facility with CABEI. The U.S. government continues to sanction
senior Nicaraguan officials, and an escalation of sanctions remains
a risk.

Nicaragua's external debt service metrics are at or below the
current 'B' median. Net external debt/GDP (2019: 48.3%) is more
than double the current 'B' median, mainly reflecting concessional
Petrocaribe debt owed to Venezuela.

The stabilization of deposits at commercial banks and the current
account surplus have reduced pressure on the crawling peg. The
central bank reduced to 3% from 5% the annual depreciation of the
Cordoba-US dollar exchange rate effective November 1. Fitch expects
that lower Cordoba depreciation will reduce the government's debt
servicing costs, including on domestic debt as this is mostly
indexed or in USD. Exporters and recipients of remittances will see
less gain from FX receipts and the banks from USD/indexed loans.
The crawling peg remains the key macro policy anchor for the highly
dollarized economy and financial system (74% of deposits, 89% of
credit).

Nicaragua's largely foreign-owned commercial banks appear to have
weathered the political crisis. Deposits rose by 4.2% between July
and October 2019 after a sharp fall that began in 2018; similarly,
credit had the first month-on-month growth in October after 17
months of contraction. Nonetheless, the stock of credit/GDP had
declined to 29.1% in October 2019 from a peak of 40.6% in April
2018 after banks cut credit lines and increased liquidity (49.7% in
September). Nicaragua's banks entered the crisis with stronger
capital positions than Central American averages, and the
authorities have allowed emergency credit restructuring measures
which avoided sharp increases in write-offs. The weak economy has
caused asset quality to deteriorate.

There has been a significant fiscal adjustment in 2019. Social
security (INSS) and tax reform are projected to narrow the
consolidated general government deficit to 0.5% of GDP from 3.1% in
2018. Fitch forecasts that new tax measures will lift central
government revenues by 13.8% in 2019, while expenditures will be
contained close to their 2018 level. Public workers did not get the
usual 5% salary increase in 2019 and will not get the adjustment in
2020. Transfers to municipalities were reduced to 4% of tax revenue
from 10%. An increase in contributions from workers and employers
and a 25% average fall in new pensions will narrow the INSS deficit
to 0.6% of GDP from 1.1% in 2018. Fitch expects a modest widening
of the deficit in 2020 and 2021 driven by the INSS' weak actuarial
position.

Government domestic financing costs have risen and maturities have
shortened. As of November 2019, the government has issued local
bonds raising USD162 million, more than it did in 2017 (USD125m).
However, this issuance has been at a higher cost (in 2019 the
weighted average interest rate rose to 10.7% from 8.9% in 2017),
shorter maturity (1 and 2 years versus 3-7 years), and involved
instruments denominated and payable in US dollars (versus
indexation previously).

Nicaragua's GG debt/GDP (2019: 46.4%) is close to the 'B' median
(2019: 49.7%), although Fitch expects it to gradually rise driven
by the INSS deficit. The concessionality of debt means that
interest payments (4.2% of revenues for 2019) are half the 'B'
median and external amortizations are relatively low with a smooth
profile.

Fitch expects that the economy will contract for the second
consecutive year, with real GDP falling by 4.3% in 2019 after a
3.8% contraction in 2018. Consumption indicators and formal
employment are weak, with firm export performance and remittances
providing support. The availability of economic activity data has
diminished during 2019, with no quarterly GDP data published. The
economic outlook for 2020-2021 is uncertain given the fall in
capital investment and timid pickup in credit; Fitch expects growth
to be flat.

SOVEREIGN RATING MODEL (SRM) AND QUALITATIVE OVERLAY (QO)

Fitch's proprietary SRM assigns Nicaragua a score equivalent to a
rating of 'CCC+' on the Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR scale.

Fitch's sovereign rating committee adjusted the output from the SRM
to arrive at the final LT FC IDR by applying its QO, relative to
rated peers, as follows:

  -- Macroeconomic policy and performance: +1 notch, to reflect
Nicaragua's consistent external and fiscal policy response that
supports credibility of the crawling peg.

Fitch's SRM is the agency's proprietary multiple regression rating
model that employs 18 variables based on three-year centered
averages, including one year of forecasts, to produce a score
equivalent to a LT FC IDR. Fitch's QO is a forward-looking
qualitative framework designed to allow for adjustment to the SRM
output to assign the final rating, reflecting factors within its
criteria that are not fully quantifiable and/or not fully reflected
in the SRM.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

The main factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to
a positive rating action are:

  -- A recovery of financial, investment, and economic conditions;

  -- A sustained reduction in political risk.

The main factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to
a negative rating action are:

  -- An inability to access external or local sources of financing
or evidence of heightened risks in meeting debt-service payments;

  -- A reduction in external liquidity that forces a disorderly
adjustment to the exchange rate regime.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

  -- Fitch assumes the global economy and international oil prices
perform in line with its Global Economic Outlook.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Nicaragua has an ESG Relevance Score of 5 for Political Stability
and Rights as World Bank Governance Indicators have the highest
weight in Fitch's SRM. Since 2018, when demonstrations against the
government led to a significant death toll, there has been a
deterioration in political stability.

Nicaragua has an ESG Relevance Score of 5 for Rule of Law,
Institutional and Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption as
World Bank Governance Indicators have the highest weight in the SRM
and are therefore highly relevant to the rating and a key rating
driver with a high weight.

Nicaragua has an ESG Relevance Score of 4 for Human Rights and
Political Freedom as World Bank Indicators have the highest weight
in Fitch's SRM and are therefore relevant to the rating and are a
rating driver.

Nicaragua has an ESG Relevance Score of 4 for Creditor Rights as
willingness to service and repay debt is relevant to the rating and
a rating driver, as for all sovereigns.

NICARAGUA: Real GDP Fell by 3.8% in 2018 on Social Unrest
---------------------------------------------------------
This statement summarizes the preliminary findings and
recommendations of the mission that visited Managua during October
29-November 12 in the context of the 2019 Article IV consultation.
The mission is grateful to the authorities for the constructive
dialogue and hospitality.

Context and recent economic developments

1. Social unrest in April 2018 and its aftermath have caused an
abrupt economic contraction. Real GDP fell by 3.8 percent in 2018
as road blockades and impairments to infrastructure caused supply
disruptions, while sharply weaker consumer and investor confidence
resulted in bank deposit outflows and decreased private investment.
The tourism, construction, and retail sectors were particularly
affected. In 2019, the economy is projected to shrink by 5.7
percent. The contraction is due to the deterioration in confidence
and international sanctions, which aggravated financial constraints
and reduced investment, employment, and social indicators.
Inflation is projected at 6.4 percent by end-2019 (as compared to
3.9 percent in 2018), which reflects the transient effect of tax
measures adopted earlier this year.

2. The economic contraction resulted in an external current
account surplus in 2018 and 2019H1. Steady growth in remittances,
exports, and a drop in imports -- due to lower disposable income --
caused an improvement in the current account. The stronger current
account was more than fully offset by capital outflows (FDI and
private portfolio flows). In recent months, however, capital
outflows have decelerated, and banks improved their liquidity
positions. Overall, net international reserves (NIR) are expected
to increase by US$ 171 million in 2019 (in 2018 NIR reached US$
1,146 million, down US$ 656 million from the 2017 level).

3. Strong buffers and the authorities' determined macroeconomic
policy response to the very difficult circumstances helped avoid a
downward economic and financial spiral.

4. The Consolidated Public Sector (CPS) position in 2018
deteriorated to a deficit of 3.9 percent of GDP but is expected to
improve significantly in 2019. In response to the difficult
situation posed by the 2018 events when tax collection plummeted,
the pension system depleted its reserves and external financing
dwindled, in 2019, the government adopted revenue-enhancing
measures and reduced capital expenditure to reverse the
deterioration in the fiscal balance. Overall the CPS deficit is
estimated at 2.2 percent of GDP in 2019.

5. In response to the challenging macroeconomic situation,
monetary and financial sector policies eased during 2018-19. In
2018, a combination of efforts by banks to enhance their liquidity
buffers (through attracting new external financing and accelerating
loan collection) and of the authorities by introducing repos,
reducing reserve requirements, and phasing-in regulatory
provisioning helped the financial sector and borrowers to adjust to
the new environment. The economic downturn and loan recalls have
nevertheless imposed a heavy toll on bank asset quality and
profitability. In recent months, however, the outflow of bank
deposits appears to have bottomed out and flows of new
non-performing and restructured loans have largely been contained
(broadly, the nominal amount of these assets, after including
"aliviados," seems to have stabilized in 2019.Q3). Through
end-September 2019, the officially reported NPL ratio was 3.8
percent, while a broader measure of borrowers experiencing some
sort of distress accounts for 18 percent of total loans. The
declared level of liquidity (45 percent of total deposits) and
solvency (almost 22 percent of risk-weighted assets, more than
twice the minimum capital requirement ratio) through September 2019
suggest the banking system holds good cushions to withstand
decreased confidence and economic growth.

Outlook and policy recommendations

6. The main challenge for 2020 and beyond is to stay on course to
preserve macroeconomic and financial stability. Restoring
confidence and external financing flows is critical to avoid a
further contraction in credit and jobs, which would continue to
hold back investment and consumption, implying a significant
headwind to economic activity. As a result, real GDP growth is
expected to contract by a more moderate 1.2 percent in 2020 before
gradually recovering to a low level of growth over the medium term.
Policies to restore private sector confidence and prevent the
occurrence of negative feedback loops related to credit contraction
are essential to promote economic recovery and reverse the increase
in poverty. Addressing medium-term fiscal challenges and
undertaking structural reforms  -- which are unavoidable to
safeguard fiscal sustainability -- require obtaining broad public
support. Indeed, satisfactorily addressing the challenges could
significantly raise medium-term growth performance.

7. Given the tight financing envelope, fiscal policy should
address fiscal sustainability while minimizing adverse impacts on
economic activity and social outcomes. Based on the implementation
of the announced fiscal and pension measures and assuming no
additional measures are taken, the available financing in 2020
would allow fiscal policy to begin offsetting some of the
underlying headwinds to economic activity -- a reversal relative to
2018-19. The authorities, as mandated by law, are currently
evaluating how growth -- friendly the recently enacted tax reform
is. Against this background, rebalancing the composition of fiscal
spending becomes a priority to generate medium-term output growth
prospects. Curbing expenditures on goods and services and
especially transfers to state-owned enterprises will allow
increased spending on social programs, social safety nets, and
public investment, which would lead to more equitable and
sustainable growth.

8. Restoring business confidence and addressing supply-side
bottlenecks are key elements to promote sustainable economic
growth. Policies to bring back private sector confidence, including
a frank evaluation of the impact of recent measures, are essential
to promote economic recovery and offset an increase in poverty.
Over the near term, strengthening government institutions in the
areas of contract enforcement and the efficiency of the legal
framework in settling disputes, protection of property rights,
investor protection, registering property, and resolving
insolvencies could significantly improve the country's
competitiveness. In the medium term, Nicaragua needs to continue
efforts to improve infrastructure, invest in human capital, address
labor skills bottlenecks, and upgrade technological readiness, all
of which would contribute to enhancing the economy's
competitiveness and growth potential.

9. The international reserve coverage should be increased. The
country characteristics of Nicaragua (crawling peg exchange rate
regime, a high degree of dollarization, and volatile terms of trade
and FDI flows) suggest that increasing the reserve coverage to a
range between 5 to 10 months of imports -- compared to the
projected level of 4.6 months at end-2019 -- is advisable to
contain risks. The real exchange rate is assessed to be moderately
stronger than warranted by fundamentals (by about 7 percent). Over
the medium-term, Nicaragua's weak external position should be
improved by enhancing competitiveness through structural reforms to
boost productivity growth while keeping inflation low.

10. Strengthening further actions to enhance the timely
identification and provisioning of distressed assets should be a
matter of priority. As borrowers (performing and restructured)
adjust their operations to the new and lower level of economic
activity, additional loan quality deterioration needs to be
avoided. Ongoing efforts by the bank superintendence to verify
in-situ banks' proper loan classification and provisioning by
assessing with a forward-looking approach the borrower's repayment
capacity are critical. Supervisory work on credit risk could be
enhanced by expanding the scope of loan-inspections handled by the
bank superintendence and requiring banks (according to a
well-defined criteria) to conduct semi-annual independent asset
quality and collateral valuation reviews to support the bank
superintendence's work, and by introducing regulatory incentives
for banks to monitor closely the foreign exchange position of their
large non- exporter borrowers (as they account for not less than 50
percent of total foreign currency- denominated loans). To offset
potential additional provisioning requirements, banks should be
able to use the cushion provided by their reported higher
capitalization ratios through September 2019. Enhancing crisis
preparedness, reforming the legal framework to facilitate
debt-workouts, and strengthening the financial safety net would
protect the financial system against downside risks.

11. The authorities' efforts to address the recommendations of the
2017 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluation Report
are necessary to protect the integrity of financial transactions
and mitigate the exposure to illicit flows. Ongoing concerns over
Nicaragua's AML/CFT framework could negatively affect the financial
sector, increase pressures over correspondent banking relations,
and more generally deteriorate the business climate. To avoid being
identified by the Financial Action Task Force as a jurisdiction
with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies, Nicaragua will need to show
that significant progress has been achieved to address the
shortcomings highlighted in its Mutual Evaluation Report. Since
July 2018, Nicaragua has made overarching reforms to the legal
framework, notably, by adopting a new AML/CFT law and a new law for
the Financial Intelligence Unit. Implementation efforts are
underway and could be strengthened by: (i) updating Nicaragua's
ML/TF National Risk Assessment; (ii) registering and building
capacity for new reporting entities to effectively report
suspicious transactions; (iii) implementing risk-based supervision
and sanctioning non-compliance; (iv) collecting and facilitating
access to beneficial ownership information.

12. Nicaragua needs to achieve greater transparency of the fiscal
accounts to be able to assess better and manage fiscal risks. An
efficient fiscal risk management policy requires a comprehensive
vision of the government's liabilities and commitments,
identification of key fiscal risks and their potential cost, the
definition of early warning mechanisms, and measures for mitigation
of fiscal risks, including the adoption of budgetary tools for such
purposes. To provide an accurate view of the overall fiscal
position, the authorities should publish financial statements -
including all financial assets and liabilities, cash flows,
expenditures, and financing of all the NFPS components. The efforts
to include the statistics for all state-owned enterprises (SOEs),
decentralized entities, and municipalities should be strengthened.
The mission recommends establishing a fiscal risk unit to prepare
risk assessments, including on the revenue losses from tax
expenditures, to be reviewed by the Economic Cabinet before the
budget bundle is submitted to the National Assembly. Strengthening
SOEs financial governance is also a priority and will reinforce
overall fiscal risk management.

13. Addressing anti-corruption policy weaknesses could advance
competitiveness and growth. Improving the understanding of
corruption risks among public officials and private agents,
updating related policies and strategies, and enhancing dialogue
and institutional coordination for increased prevention,
investigation, and prosecution of cases would help to fight
corruption. Also, international good practices suggest the need to
strengthen the existing asset declaration regime for high-level
public officials as well as further efforts targeted at politically
exposed persons. Contract enforcement and the efficiency of the
legal dispute settlement framework, enforcement of property rights,
investor protection, registering property, and resolving
bankruptcies continue to be a priority. Stronger anti-corruption
measures would help collect more tax revenues, improve resource
allocation, upgrade fiscal risk management, and provide better
quality and quantity of social and physical infrastructure.

14. Past progress in widening and disseminating economic
statistics needs to be preserved. Further efforts are needed to
improve source data in the real sector, particularly for tourism,
manufacturing, and retail; incorporate the results of the household
survey in the national accounts; harmonize public sector debt with
external sector debt data; monitor assets and liabilities of public
enterprises; and improve coverage of FDI statistics. The mission,
nevertheless, welcomes the authorities' intentions to continue
building on the Fund's technical assistance to improve the quality
and consistency of statistics. The mission recommends resuming the
timely publication of data, which is critical to business
confidence and policy credibility.



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P U E R T O   R I C O
=====================

JJE INC: Asks Court to Extend Plan & Disclosure Filing
------------------------------------------------------
Debtor JJE, Inc., filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
District of Puerto Rico a motion requesting an extension to file
disclosure statement and plan of reorganization.

On June 19, 2019, this Honorable Court entered an Order providing
Debtor to file its Disclosure Statement and Plan of Reorganization
on or before Oct. 9, 2019.

The Plan depends on trying to reach an agreement with Debtor's
biggest creditor.  The parties have been in communication and
Debtor believes that an agreement may be reached.  Nevertheless,
the parties need more time to be able to provide all the documents
required by the creditor to consider.

The Debtor requests an extension of time of 30 days to file its
Disclosure Statement and Plan of Reorganization.

The Debtor is represented by:

        GRATACOS LAW FIRM, P.S.C.
        Victor Gratacos Diaz
        P.O. BOX 7571
        CAGUAS, PUERTO RICO 00726
        Tel: (787) 746-4772
        Fax: (787) 746-3633
        E-mail: bankruptcy@gratacoslaw.com

                          About JJE Inc.

JJE, Inc., is a home health care services provider based in Manati,
Puerto Rico.  JJE, Inc., filed a Chapter 11 petition (Bankr. D.P.R.
Case No.19-02034) on April 12, 2019, and is represented by Victor
Gratacos Diaz, Esq., in Caguas, Puerto Rico.  In the petition
signed by Jenny Olivo, president, the Debtor disclosed $295,244 in
total assets and $1,953,718 in total liabilities.



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V E N E Z U E L A
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VENEZUELA: Cybercrime Rates Pick up as the Economy Plummets
-----------------------------------------------------------
Bill Toulas at TechNadu, citing cybersecurity expert IntSights,
reports that the cybercrime rates in Venezuela are picking up as
the economy continues to plummet.  The country is deep in its
social and political crisis, after all negotiations, protests, and
dynamic social processes failed to yield any positive results for
the people, according to TechNadu.  In these desperate times, the
government is trying to control the internet in the nation in order
to keep social media posts and encrypted communications in check,
the report notes.  This, however, has turned citizens over to the
dark web, while the economic activity is gradually shifting to
cryptocurrencies, the report discloses.

The humanitarian and economic desperation has turned cybercrime
into viable employment, and even the authorities are now embracing
the use of cryptocurrencies, the report notes.  For example,
there's the "Petrocoin" that is supposedly backed by the country's
oil reserves, while DASH and Bitcoin are also extensively used. The
official "Bolivar Fuerte" has been rendered worthless, as
hyperinflation rates in the country increased to 10 million percent
since 2018, and the minimum wage is now the equivalent of about $2,
the report relates.  Obviously, people can't live at this wage, and
employment opportunities in the country are non-existent anyway,
the report discloses.

IntSights claim that they are increasingly seeing Venezuelans
behind ongoing phishing campaigns targeting Latin American users,
the report says.  In fact, these actors aren't even bothering to
hide their identities or to cover their online tracks, which is
indicative of the fact that local law enforcement is doing nothing
about the situation. Besides phishing, there's also a lot of
carding, scamming, and ransomware distribution, the report notes.
At the same time, there's quite a lot of hacktivism targeting the
existing regime, launching large-scale DDoS attacks against
government assets and portals, supported by communities that try to
fight corruption in Venezuela, the report relays.  All that said,
the situation is chaotic right now, the report says.

The question is what happens from now on. Venezuela's oil reserves
are almost depleted, the social instability will continue to get
out of hand, and the economy is beyond any turning point, the
report notes.  That said, cybercrime is bound to continue strong in
the country, posing a threat to the whole of Latin America, the
report adds.


                      About Venezuela

Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a
country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a
continental landmass and a large number of small islands and
islets in the Caribbean sea.  The capital is the city of Caracas.

Hugo Chavez was president to Venezuela from 1999 to 2013.  The
Chavez presidency was plagued with challenges, which included a
2002 coup d'etat, a 2002 national strike and a 2004 recall
referendum.  Nicolas Maduro was elected president in 2013 after
the death of Chavez.  Maduro won a second term at the May 2018
Venezuela elections, but this result has been challenged by
countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Canada,
Germany, France and the United States who deemed it fraudulent and
moved to recognize Juan Guaido as president.

The presidencies of Chavez and Maduro have challenged Venezuela
with a socioeconomic and political crisis.  It is marked by
hyperinflation, climbing hunger, poverty, disease, crime and death
rates, social unrest, corruption and emigration from the country.

Standard and Poor's long- and short-term foreign currency
Sovereign credit ratings for Venezuela stands at 'SD/D' (November
2017).

S&P's local currency sovereign credit ratings on the other hand
Are 'CCC-/C'. The May 2018 outlook on the long-term local currency
sovereign credit rating is negative, reflecting S&P's view that
the sovereign could miss a payment on its outstanding local
currency debt obligations or advance a distressed debt exchange
operation, equivalent to default.

Moody's credit rating (long term foreign and domestic issuer
ratings) for Venezuela was last set at C with stable outlook
(March 2018).

Fitch's long term issuer default rating for Venezuela was last set
at RD (2017) and country ceiling was CC. Fitch, on June 27, 2019,
affirmed then withdrew the ratings due to the imposition of U.S.
sanctions on Venezuela.


                           *********


S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America is a daily newsletter
co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless
Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C.,
USA, Marites O. Claro, Joy A. Agravante, Rousel Elaine T.
Fernandez, Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A.
Chapman, Editors.

Copyright 2019.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2746.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
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of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or
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