US banks shelve $20 billion bailout plan for Argentina, WSJ reports

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(Reuters) -A planned $20 billion bailout for Argentina from JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup has been shelved as bankers pivot instead to a smaller, short-term loan package, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing sources.

In October, the U.S. Treasury reached a $20 billion exchange-rate stabilization agreement with Argentina, to be paired with a bank-led debt facility for the same amount. The deal came just days ahead of a midterm election that was crucial for Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Milei.

Bankers now say the debt facility is no longer under serious consideration, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Instead, lenders are planning to loan Argentina around $5 billion through a short-term repurchase, or “repo,” facility, it said.

Bank of America, Citi and JPMorgan declined to comment.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told Reuters earlier this month a potential loan from the banks to Argentina “may not be necessary,” but the lender could be open to extending the nation special financing.

Argentina’s economy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal said the funds would go toward a roughly $4 billion debt payment due in January, adding that talks were still in initial stages and could change or fall through.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have been staunch backers of Milei.

While Milei’s administration has steadily brought inflation down from triple-digit year-over-year rises, reserves are tight and the government was quickly burning through dollars before the U.S. backing.

(Reporting by Chris Thomas and Kylie Madry in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Nicolas Misculin in Buenos Aires and Saaed Azhar and Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Natalia Siniawski and Edmund Klamann)