Argentina's Ministry of Finance, through Economy Minister Luis Caputo speaking at a Latin American insurance regulation and supervision conference, announced that Argentina has reached agreement with International Monetary Fund staff on a USD 20 billion amount that will be submitted to the IMF Executive Board for approval. He also said the government is negotiating with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and CAF for an additional freely usable package to reinforce the Central Bank of Argentina’s reserves. Caputo framed the IMF arrangement as different from traditional programmes with gradual disbursements tied to fiscal and monetary adjustments, arguing that the government has already undertaken the required adjustment to eliminate the fiscal deficit and monetary financing. He stated that the agreed financing would lift the central bank’s gross reserves to close to USD 50 billion and would be used to recapitalise the central bank’s assets rather than fund public spending, adding that it would not increase gross debt. Next steps include submission of the IMF staff-level agreement to the IMF Board for approval, while negotiations with other multilateral lenders continue.

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