Central Bank takes out US$3 billion loan with international banks to cover debt

Argentinas Central Bank (BCRA) announced on Wednesday it had negotiated a repurchase agreement (known as a repo) with international banks for US$3 billion.  This will allow the country to face debt maturities close to US$4.2 billion due on Friday, January 9. In a statement, the monetary authority said it arranged a passive repos operation with six leading international banks using part of its holdings of BONARES 2035 and 2038 bonds as collateral. A repo agreement is a form of secured, short-term borrowing where one party sells securities (like government bonds) to another with a simultaneous agreement to buy them back later at a slightly higher price, with the price difference representing the interest. The operation is part of the measures the Milei administration has taken to rebuild the BCRA’s balance sheet and grow its international reserves.  This is the third repo with international banks carried out by Economy Minister Luis Caputo since taking office in December 2023. The first two, signed in January and June 2025, used BOPREAL dollar-denominated securities as collateral, for a total of US$3 billion.  BCRA buys dollars On Monday, the Central Bank made its first dollar purchase in nine months, buying US$21 million in the foreign-exchange market, according to an official statement.The next day, it bought an additional US$83 million. According to experts, that represented close to 5% of the volume operated in the free exchange market. The decision is part of a government-announced move that it will begin a reserve-accumulation process in 2026, something markets and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had been calling for.