Argentina has obtained financing from a multilateral institution, which remains unnamed, to facilitate the repayment of US$2.5 billion to the US Treasury stemming from a currency swap agreement, as stated by an official from the country’s Central Bank. The financing details were not disclosed publicly by either the Central Bank or the multilateral lender, as per the official, who refrained from identifying the lender but confirmed it was not the International Monetary Fund. Argentina currently has a loan program with the IMF amounting to US$20 billion.
On the previous Friday, Argentina completed the repayment of US$2.5 billion sourced from a US$20-billion swap line established with the Trump administration, in addition to fulfilling significant obligations to bondholders amounting to US$4.3 billion. The government fulfilled its bond obligations last week by utilizing its reserves alongside a US$3-billion loan, structured as a repurchase agreement, sourced from six international banks.
“Our nation has been fully repaid while making tens of millions in USD profit for the American taxpayer,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a Friday post on X. He noted that Argentina has effectively accessed financial markets while also implementing “encouraging changes to its monetary and exchange rate policy framework.”
Bessent provided remarkable US backing as Argentina’s peso experienced significant fluctuations in the lead-up to a critical midterm election in October. Market participants had anticipated a defeat for President Javier Milei against his leftist rivals; however, Milei’s libertarian party emerged victorious, resulting in a subsequent positive shift in market sentiment towards him. Information regarding the swap line and its conditions from US Treasury and Argentine officials remains sparse.