The government will receive USD 2 billion from the IMF this Monday and will use the money to buy back debt from the Central Bank of Argentina and strengthen its net reserves.

With the arrival of a new disbursement from the International Monetary Fund, the government will move forward this Monday with an internal debt operation to improve the Central Bank 's net reserves position. This is a strategy already implemented in May that, while not altering the total volume of foreign currency, modifies its accounting composition and strengthens the BCRA's ability to intervene in the foreign exchange market.

Official sources confirmed that the Treasury will repurchase a portion of Non-Transferable Treasury Bills with the USD 2 billion the IMF will send as part of the Extended Fund Facility program . This operation will result in a transfer of foreign currency from the Ministry of Economy to the Central Bank and will allow the restructuring of the stock of net foreign currency assets available.

The transfer will be carried out under the same mechanism implemented in May with the agency's first transfer, when the Treasury repurchased non-transferable bills for the equivalent of USD 12.002 billion, and the BCRA recorded these currencies as its own reserves. According to updated data, as of July 23, the Central Bank still held USD 16.753 billion in these instruments, compared to the USD 23.713 billion it held at the beginning of May.

At the accounting level, the key is that the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) transferred by the IMF, once they enter the Treasury account and then pass to the Central Bank, will no longer be counted as reserves and will become part of the net reserves asset. That is, the gross total will not change, but the capacity for immediate use will.

Luis Caputo defended the logic behind this dynamic: " The accumulation of reserves is a consequence of the economic program. We can't set an exact date for that ." In this regard, he emphasized that the objective was adjusted in the agreement with the IMF: the original reserve targets for this year were reduced by approximately USD 5 billion.

These dollar-denominated government bonds began to be used in 2006, during the administration of Néstor Kirchner, as a way to replace international reserves used to pay off foreign debt. In exchange, the Treasury provided the BCRA with non-negotiable, long-term, zero- or low-interest instruments . Over time, this scheme was repeated to obtain financing and meet commitments to international organizations.

With Santiago Bausili 's arrival at the Central Bank, a change was introduced in the accounting valuation of these bills. Previously, they were recorded at their technical value in pesos, determined by the official exchange rate. This generated an accounting gain when a devaluation occurred, allowing the Central Bank to transfer profits to the Treasury.

Today, the focus is on eliminating these bills from the BCRA's assets to transform the reserves into its own currency, a strategy that improves the institution's accounting profile and supports its managed float policy.

In its first review of the EFF agreement, the IMF highlighted key government progress, such as fiscal consolidation, falling inflation, and the transition to a more flexible exchange rate regime. However, it warned that the reserve accumulation target set for June was not met.

Even so, the organization supported the official strategy. In its latest statement, it emphasized: " The solid implementation of policies enabled a smooth transition to a more flexible exchange rate regime, with declining inflation and sustained economic growth ."

Kristalina Georgieva was emphatic: " It is essential that there be greater clarity in the medium-term monetary regime to consolidate the disinflation process ." She also called for maintaining contractionary conditions to promote remonetization and optimize liquidity management.