BUENOS AIRES, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Argentina’s central bank announced on Wednesday a $3 billion repurchase agreement (REPO) with six international banks, as part of broader efforts to bolster its foreign currency reserves ahead of a key debt repayment deadline.
The agreement was broadly expected by analysts as the country increased efforts in recent days to shore up reserves ahead of the first bondholder payment of the year, roughly $4.3 billion in principal and interest, due January 9.
The transaction was carried out using part of the central bank’s holdings of 2035 and 2038 BONARES bonds, the bank said in a statement.
Demand for the deal reached $4.4 billion, the bank said, but it decided not to increase the amount despite “the strong interest shown by leading international banks”.
The transaction “reinforces the process of normalizing access to credit markets, in line with a decline in country risk amid consistent and sustainable macroeconomic stabilization,” the central bank added.
Argentina, a serial defaulter that last missed payments in 2020, is under pressure from markets and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to strengthen reserves as a condition for regaining access to international capital markets.
(Reporting by Walter Bianchi; Writing by Gabriel Araujo. Editing by Lucinda Elliott)
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