Argentina’s Central Bank extended maturities worth US$6 billion on its repurchase agreements – or repos – to ease the government debt burden going into the 2027 presidential election.
President Javier Milei’s government combined the three repos it negotiated with international banks since 2025 into a single one worth US$6 billion and due in September 2028, according to a news release Friday from the monetary authority.
Bloomberg News reported the government was in talks to do so in May. Argentina will pay an interest rate of 400 basis points over the Federal Reserve’s Secured Overnight Financing Rate as part of the deal with 10 international lenders, the central bank said.
The Economy Ministry will also announce what it described as a “conservative” plan to cover upcoming debt maturities on Monday. “It is a financial programme that shows the building of buffers, through which we reach 2027 with considerable room to spare,” Finance Secretary Federico Furiase said in a podcast Thursday evening.
Prior to Friday’s move, the country had more than US$20 billion in debt maturities due in 2027, according to Barclays – an imposing figure given election years can bring market turmoil.
The new repo should “ease concerns about 2027 debt service obligations and provide further momentum to bond spread compression,” said Jimena Zuñiga, Argentina economist at Bloomberg Economics. “This should also improve the ground for a return to international capital markets in the not-too-distant future.”
In mid-2025, Milei’s administration signed a two-year, US$2-billion repo loan with international banks set to mature in 2027, on top of a similar US$1--billion, two-year deal signed earlier. Argentina most recently landed a US$3-billion repo led by Banco Santander SA, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and Deutsche Bank AG to help make January bond payments. Argentina faces more than US$4 billion in payments this month.
Credit upgrades by both Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings in recent months have fuelled bets that Argentina will get another shot at tapping international markets after missing a window in early 2026.
by Manuela Tobias, Bloomberg
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