Banks in talks with US Treasury to lend $20 billion to Argentina, Semafor reports

(Reuters) -Banks including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are in talks with the U.S. Treasury to provide up to $20 billion in loans to Argentina, Semafor reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. 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 U.S. would continue to support Argentina financially as long as Milei's government pursues "good policies," regardless of the election outcome. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City and Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Alan Barona)

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