* LatAm stocks fall for 4th day, JPMorgan loan losses weigh
* Mexico holds rates, analysts see no change any time soon
* Argentina says received SEC response on swap plan
By Walter Brandimarte
SAO PAULO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks slid for the fourth straight session on Friday while most currencies weakened in the region after JPMorgan reported deep losses on mortgage and credit card loans, frustrating investors who expected signs of improving U.S. credit conditions.
Mexican stocks slid more than 1 percent on the JPMorgan report, as investors feared weak credit conditions in the United States may delay a recovery in neighboring Mexico.
"This makes you think that we are not out of the crisis yet," said Carlos Alonso, a trader at brokerage Interacciones in Mexico City.
JPMorgan Chase & Co
Cushioning the fall in Mexican stocks were growing bets the central bank, now under the realm of Agustin Carstens, will not raise interest rates before the second half of the year.
Such expectations grew after the central bank kept rates unchanged at 4.5 percent on Friday, saying weak economic growth would dampen the inflationary effects of recent tax hikes. [ID:nN15113109]
"The statement accompanying the decision boasts the stamp of the new governor, in our view," Barclays Capital analysts said, while changing their call for the beginning of monetary tightening in Mexico to August from March.
"This is interesting because it has the potential to lend credibility to the new governor, adding context to his earlier remarks, largely perceived as (too?) dovish," they added.
Mexico's benchmark IPC index <.MXX> lost 1.23 percent, while the Brazilian Bovespa index <.BVSP> declined 1.2 percent.
The MSCI stock index for Latin America <.MILA00000PUS> was 1 percent lower late on the day. It has declined more than 3 percent in four consecutive sessions of losses.
Most Latin American currencies also weakened. The Brazilian
real
Meanwhile, a source with the Argentine Finance Ministry said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has responded to the paperwork recently filed in connection to the country's planed swap of defaulted debt. [ID:nN15147840]
Argentina is preparing to reply to the SEC documentation, the source added.
Investors have become slightly more upbeat about the long-planned Argentine debt swap, despite a series of obstacles including a dispute with Central Bank Governor Martin Redrado and the embargo of an account held by the central bank with the New York Federal Reserve. (Additional reporting by Michael O'Boyle in Mexico City; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)