The Minister of Economy,
Luis Caputo, launched a debt swap for $54 billion, the equivalent of just over five monetary bases
.
The "asset conversion" operation will be carried out
between Monday the 11th and Tuesday the 12th
, and corresponds exclusively to the National Treasury bonds at a fixed rate Badlar and those adjustable for inflation (CER), official dollar (
dollar linked
) and dual currency ( that pays the best performance among the evolution of the previous options) that have
maturities throughout 2024
.
The intention of the economic team, which will be carried out by the Secretary of Finance,
Pablo Quirno
, is
to postpone as many public debt maturities as possible in the local capital market until December 15, 2025
(after the legislative elections of the year that comes; 30% of the total), December 15, 2026 (another 30%), December 15, 2027 (25%) and December 15, 2028 (15%).
This extension will thus cover the next Government or a second term of Javier Milei.
Eligible securities are only inflation-linked bonds (Boncer)
.
According to official sources, the idea is to "extend the maturity profile at sustainable rates to
clear the financial horizon and thus contribute to the macroeconomic stabilization process
undertaken as of December 11."
Indeed, postponing payments in agreement with creditors (a large part corresponds to the National Public Sector itself, such as Anses, the Central Bank -BCRA- and Banco Nación) will mean a
lower interest burden
, which in February led to the return of the fiscal financial deficit.
In addition, the Treasury could call debt tenders in the future exclusively to repurchase bonds from the BCRA, an intra-State transfer of hands that can lead to a
contraction of circulating money
.
Currently, the monetary base is equivalent to about $10.75 trillion, with a drop in real terms of close to 33%.
Excellent meeting with Minister @LuisCaputoAR.
At @el_BID we remain committed to the development of #Argentina and ready to support the government's priority issues, including fiscal reforms, social issues and energy.
pic.twitter.com/phJr5IMlqF
— Ilan Goldfajn (@igoldfajn) March 9, 2024
The debt swap operation is one of the non-quantifiable goals (
structural benchmark
) of the latest review of the
agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
.
Local debt maturities in pesos are equivalent in dollars to more than one debt with the agency.
Meanwhile, Caputo and Quirno met in Punta Cana with the president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ilan Goldfajn, who will support Argentina's fiscal reforms and send $400 million for "food security."