BUENOS AIRES - Foreign governments and banks on Tuesday urged Argentina to get its act together and defuse a chaotic financial crisis, while the International Monetary Fund gave strong hints that an aid deal might fall short of expectations.

Following weeks of chilly relations after the IMF cut off aid to Argentina in December, a top IMF official said an eventual multibillion-dollar loan could be in the works -- if the government made drastic spending cuts and presented a solid economic plan.

Meanwhile, Spain's largest bank -- Santander Central Hispano (SCH) -- prepared to shutter its operations in Argentina if necessary, becoming the latest bank to turn up the heat on the government to seek aid from the IMF to shore up a financial system crumbling after a traumatic currency devaluation and four years of recession.

Fearful that Argentina's problems could spread to global economies and companies, the European Union encouraged Argentina to "bring back stability," but also warned it not to discriminate against foreign creditors.

Argentina's new President Eduardo Duhalde must decide how to evenly spread the cost of the devaluation among companies deeply wounded by the crisis and an angry public that took to the streets and helped topple two presidents last month.

The Peronist leader would also have to pass an austere budget, including possible cuts in teachers' pay and state pensions, to win over the IMF. The government has not formally asked for aid, but there have been widespread reports that Argentina could need around $15 billion.

Several dozen protesters chanted "No to the banks!" and jingled keys outside federal courts to demand that they free up partially frozen bank deposits, many of which are life savings held in dollars -- the safe haven currency in Latin America.

Others posted messages on the Web to plan street protests for later this week, while teachers threatened to strike after the financially ailing government cut their pay.

In response to public pressure, the Central Bank published rules on Tuesday allowing deposit holders to withdraw up to $5,000 from their accounts, but there was a catch -- withdrawals must be converted into pesos at the official rate of 1.40 per dollar. The rate in exchange houses is over 1.80 pesos.

In Melbourne, IMF First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger said that the $15 billion to $20 billion aid figure seemed "high," but that some aid was being considered as Duhalde formulated a battle plan to tackle the crisis.

"I think that ($15 billion) would be above what we would be thinking, but again you would have to see the whole program," Krueger told reporters. "Certainly it would be on the high end given our exposure to them (Argentina) already."

Argentina's woes have hit the bottom lines of blue-chips such as U.S. automaker General Motors Corp. and telecommunications firm BellSouth Corp. in recent weeks, although contagion to other countries has been limited.

After snapping a currency peg that made one peso equal to one dollar for a decade, Argentina has faced pressure from conflicting interest groups who all want to win out in the reconstruction of its troubled economy.

Over the weekend, Duhalde bowed to lobbying from banks and decided to turn Argentines' partially frozen deposits made in U.S. dollars into devalued pesos, enraging the middle class. Rules on how the conversion would be made are expected in two weeks.

SCH said it had set aside enough money to cover its entire investment in Argentina, which laid the groundwork for it to become the first major foreign bank to simply walk away from the South American country since the nearly 30 percent devaluation.

SCH Chairman Emilio Botin said the group's presence depended on the banking system being "viable and profitable."

"The banks are pressuring Argentina so they don't have to shoulder as much of the cost of the devaluation," said Robert Lacoursiere, a bank analyst for Lehman Brothers. "I don't think it's a bluff, but I don't think they'll leave either."

IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler said the new government needed time to stabilize.

"It is legitimate that the Argentines take the necessary time to define a strategy that will last. The IMF is ready to support such an approach," Koehler said in an interview with French daily Le Monde.

IMF auditors were due in Buenos Aires on Tuesday to review Argentina's progress in halting chronic budget overspending.

Argentina's Central Bank sold dollars on the foreign exchange market for the sixth straight session to support the floating peso.

The floating peso ARSB=> was trading at 1.85 pesos per dollar on Tuesday, a 46 percent fall from the pre-devaluation rate. A separate fixed-rate peso for foreign trade is pegged at 1.40 per dollar. The government hopes to fully float the peso in the second half of the year.

The Central Bank also granted some exemptions from a partial freeze of bank deposits put in place to stop a run on banks late last year. Some retirees, those with high medical costs and depositors who received recent indemnification for being laid off will have more access to their accounts.

In one of countless small nationwide protests on Tuesday, one artist said he had to apply for special permission to take out $5,000 from banks after he had a heart attack.

The broadly unpopular banking curbs have sparked violent street protests over the last month, including those that led Fernando de la Rua to quit as president on Dec. 20.

The curbs have suffocated the economy and put as many as half Argentina's pharmacies on the verge of bankruptcy, according to one local chamber. But analysts say lifting the restrictions would produce a disastrous run on banks that would destroy the financial system.

(Additional reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary in Madrid) Nampa-Reuters