The Argentine government is analyzing a debt swap with banks operating in the country for the entirety of its 2024 maturities: AR$57.5 trillion (US$71 billion at the official rate). If successful, it would be the highest debt rollover in Argentine history.

The information was initially published in a newswire by the Bloomberg news agency on Friday describing a meeting between Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Finance Secretary Pablo Quirno with bank representatives.

According to Bloomberg, the government officials “proposed issuing inflation-linked bonds maturing in 2025, 2026, and 2027 as one possible alternative for the swap.” A source in the Economy Ministry acknowledged the meeting but told the Herald that there is no definite proposal. “The economic program was presented and ideas for the management of liabilities were exchanged,” they said.

A source from one of the banks present in the meeting confirmed the proposal to the Herald, while a representative from another bank said that the possibility of the swap was raised during a meeting dealing with the national administration’s economic program. “It is a good sign for the markets because it removes all debt maturities [for 2024],” the bank source said. The move would imply reducing the financial deficit to zero for this year. The source added that the economic cabinet is putting together working teams to work on a more concrete proposal.

According to a report by the GMA brokerage cited by Bloomberg, the US$71 billion debt includes notes with interest payments tied to inflation, the exchange rate, and fixed-rate bonds. The report also estimates that around 40% of this debt is in the private sector.

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