On Friday, Argentina’s Central Bank disclosed that it has repaid a segment of the US$20 billion currency swap with the United States Treasury that was utilized in 2025. The announcement represents the initial public acknowledgment by the monetary authority that a portion of the facility has been “activated.” The Central Bank’s communiqué indicates that the payment occurred in December, pertaining to “transactions carried out during the fourth quarter of 2025.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a post that, “reflecting its strengthened financial position, Argentina has both quickly and fully repaid its limited draw on the swap facility with the United States.” He stated that the Exchange Stabilization Fund, the emergency reserve fund from which the swap originated, “currently does not hold any pesos” and “never lost money.”
“Our nation has been fully repaid while generating tens of millions in USD profit for the American taxpayer,” he added. Christian Buteler, an economist from Argentina, stated that the earnings of the U.S. Treasury were derived from the interests paid by the Central Bank. “Their profit is our loss,” he stated on X. In October of the previous year, the United States and Argentina reached an agreement on a currency swap line valued at US$20 billion. Once an agreement is reached, the country must “activate” it to access the funds and utilize them without restrictions.
Despite the confidentiality surrounding the expenditure and terms, economists in Argentina examined Central Bank data from last November and determined that a portion of the swap had been utilized by Argentina. Experts indicated that the country utilized those U.S. dollars to finance the U.S. Treasury’s intervention prior to the October 26 mid-term elections, during which the Trump administration purchased pesos to mitigate a run on the South American currency. Analysts estimated that the U.S. invested significantly more than US$2 billion to support the peso, although the exact figure remains undisclosed. Bessent subsequently affirmed that Argentina had, in fact, initiated the swap.
On Friday, Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo expressed gratitude to Bessent on X for his “swift response to blatant attacks whose sole purpose was to destabilize our government at a time when our most committed people are focused on long-term change.” A source informed that the US$20 billion currency swap continues to be effective “under the agreed terms,” details of which will not be disclosed to the public.