World Bank plans up to $2 billion guarantee to help Argentina refinance debt

The World Bank Group said ​on Thursday (16) it is working on ‌a guarantee of up to $2 billion to help refinance “a relevant portion of Argentina’s debt.”

The ​operation is subject to approval by ​the World Bank’s Board of Executive ⁠Directors, the bank said.

The loan would ​be mostly backed by the International ​Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), Bloomberg reported earlier.

Argentina’s ​government signalled its intent to return ​to international capital markets last year, only to ‌later ⁠talk about cheaper ways to access financing, including through multilaterals like the IMF and the World Bank.

Economy Minister Luis ​Caputo has ​said that ⁠he wants the spread in its international bonds, currently above ​500 basis points, to drop ​closer ⁠to 250 bps before tapping international bond markets.

Argentina’s current credit rating, deep into ‘junk’ ⁠status, ​would make it hard ​to hit that target soon.

Reporting by Rodrigo Campos for Reuters

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