Caputo confirms negotiations for new bank loan to cover January debt

Economy Minister Luis Caputo said that Argentina is negotiating a loan with international private banks for up to US$7 billion to cover the US$4.2 billion debt maturity due in January, without causing the country’s reserves to plummet. “Banks have offered us between US$6 and 7 billion, and we are deciding how much we will accept. Whether it’s zero, US$1 billion, US$2 billion, US$3 billion, or US$4 billion, we’ll see,” Caputo said during a leadership event organized by newspaper El Cronista.  “We want to make sure that the January coupon payments don’t lower the level of reserves,” he added.  Caputo said he expects country risk to drop after the agreement is confirmed, along with the labor and tax reform bills and the 2026 budget, which the government will send to Congress to be debated over the summer in extraordinary sessions. Despite his announcement, Caputo tried to quell expectations regarding the ongoing debate about Argentina’s low level of reserves. “We will not go out and buy dollars like crazy just to have a higher exchange rate and prove to the world we are competitive,” he said later on Wednesday, speaking at a lunch with businesspeople organized by the Inter-American Council on Trade and Production. The minister tried to appease critics over the lack of reserves, insisting the government is concentrating its efforts on reaching economic stability.  “They say it’s impossible to accumulate reserves. They make it seem like if we don’t buy US$8 billion in the next 24 hours Argentina will be in trouble,” he said sarcastically, adding that the drop in reserves was due to the fact that many of the dollars purchased by the Central Bank were used to pay international debt. In fact, the minister claimed that the Milei government is “the one that bought the most reserves” in Argentine history. Caputo also said that Argentina will continue to have a currency band scheme to control the exchange rate.