Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s move to ease access to mortgages and combat the possibility of recession for the first time since 2002, increases the country’s dependence on nationalized pension funds to drive economic growth.

Fernandez said last night that the government will use as much as 5% of the funds held by the country’s social security agency, known as Anses, to help Argentines buy new homes or build their own over the next two years. The loans will be issued through state-controlled Banco Hipotecario.

'This is a great day for Argentines -- our workers’ retirement funds will be used to generate more jobs,' Fernandez said. 'The key to the economy is to generate more and better- paid jobs so that those funds keep growing.'

bloomberg.com