BUENOS AIRES, Argentina Argentine courts on Friday stepped up their probe into the exodus of bank deposits that helped set off Argentina's current crisis, while foreign banks, Moody's and the IMF sounded new alarms about the state of the battered banking system.

As the Central Bank continued to prop up the peso in the foreign exchange market, the International Monetary Fund said heavier intervention would be "questionable" and warned the government not to expect fresh aid to support the banking system. Moody's rating agency said on Friday banks were facing insolvency after this month's currency devaluation, Reuters reported.

Argentine Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov and Foreign Minister Carlos Ruckauf will travel to Washington at the end of January to meet with the IMF and U.S. officials for help the crisis-ridden economy, a government spokesman said.

Meanwhile, tension in Buenos Aires areas was palpable. Police numbers were bolstered at government buildings as protests welled, threatening a return of the violence that toppled the government and left 27 dead last month.

In the latest daily demonstrations against the government's freezing of most bank savings, hundreds of small businessmen staged a demonstration in front of the Central Bank building in Buenos Aires.

On Thursday, the authorities raided the local offices of banks, including London-based HSBC Holdings New York-based Citigroup's Local Unit, and Banco Frances, owned by Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria.

The raids were part of an investigation into the wave of funds sent abroad late last year that led to unpopular government curbs on cash withdrawals.

"Those bringing the complaint say possible crimes include misappropriation of funds (and) fraud within the public administration," Norberto Oyarbide, one of the judges heading the probe, said Friday.

Alarms Sounded

With an estimated four out of every five Argentines opposing limits on cash withdrawals, analysts warned that banking restrictions were infuriating foreign-owned banks and threatening to cripple the sector.

Spain's biggest bank, Santander Central Hispano, which sources have said could leave Argentina if new restrictions are not revised, said it was "pessimistic" about the situation and called for a "credible" government plan.

The ****Wall Street**** journal Friday reported that Fleetboston Financial Corp. was considering leaving the country after a government decree that would force banks to convert dollar-denominated loans into devalued pesos. Fleetboston later said it was not planning strategic changes in Argentina.

Speaking in neighboring Chile, the IMF's First Deputy Managing Director, Anne Krueger, said there was no money in the pipeline in the short term.

"It would be very difficult to have anything within a month," she said.

Echoing previous statements about Argentina, U.S. President George W. Bush spoke by telephone on Friday to President Eduardo Duhalde, telling him that help was at hand for Argentina after the government committed to a sustainable economic plan. Duhalde also spoke with Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso on Friday to thank him for Brazil's cooperation.

Krueger said that, while a case could be made for the Central Bank's "small" interventions, any large-scale intervention would be questionable.

Even after Argentina named a new Central Bank chief with close ties to the IMF Thursday, Krueger's comments suggested the appointment would not pay easy dividends beyond an agreement to delay for a year a $933 million loan repayment.