Banks, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup, are in talks with the US Treasury to provide up to $20 billion in loans to Argentina, Semafor reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday had said that the department was working with banks and investment funds to create a $20 billion facility to invest in the South American country's sovereign debt.
Bessent said that the facility would sit alongside a new $20 billion US currency swap line for Argentina, providing a total of $40 billion in support for Latin America's third-largest economy.
Citi sold Argentine pesos to the US Federal Reserve as part of the Treasury's program, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Bloomberg was the first to report on Citi's involvement.
BofA, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Citi declined to comment when contacted by Reuters about the Semafor report. Argentina also had no comment. Citi did not respond to a request for comment on selling pesos to the Fed.
US would not "waste our time"
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US would not "waste our time" with Argentina if President Javier Milei's party loses in parliamentary elections on October 26.
But Bessent clarified that the US would continue to support Argentina financially as long as Milei's government pursues "good policies," regardless of the election outcome.