BCRA enables Rosario debt for 72 billion pesos

The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic has resolved not to raise objections to financial entities acquiring public securities to be issued by the municipality of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, for up to $72 billion. The decision is contained in Communication “A” 8507/2026, dated November 5, 2026, and published in the Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic on November 13, 2026, in its First Section.

The communication is addressed to financial entities and bears the references LISOL 1-1159 and OPRAC 1-1325, under the heading “Financing for the non-financial public sector. Municipality of Rosario –province of Santa Fe–”. The ruling falls under the restriction contained in point 2.1 of the ordered text on Financing for the Non-Financial Public Sector, which frames bank credit directed to that sector: the BCRA clarifies that said restriction does not prevent the operation it is now enabling.

The endorsement refers to instruments that will be issued during the 2026 fiscal year within the framework of the Final Pavement and Linked Infrastructure Financing Program, provided for in Municipal Ordinance 10.274 and its amendments. The financial conditions arise from note NO-2026-104581708-APNSH#MEC from the Treasury Secretariat of the National Ministry of Economy.

Terms of the authorization

The Central Bank’s resolution sets a precise perimeter for the operation:

• Maximum authorized amount: $72,000,000,000 (seventy-two billion pesos).
• Issuer: municipality of Rosario, province of Santa Fe.
• Instrument: public securities to be issued within the framework of the pavement program.
• Issuance fiscal year: 2026.
• Supporting local regulation: Municipal Ordinance 10.274 and its amendments.
• Issuance conditions: note NO-2026-104581708-APNSH#MEC from the Treasury Secretariat.

The official text raises no objections to the indebtedness, but neither does it exempt it from prudential rules: the authorization is granted “without prejudice to the observance by the intervening financial entities of the provisions regarding the fragmentation of credit risk provided for in said regulatory framework.” Each bank subscribing to the securities must, therefore, fit the holding within the risk concentration limits per client established by the financing regime for the non-financial public sector.

Signatures and publication

Communication “A” 8507/2026 bears the signatures of Darío C. Stefanelli, Principal Manager of Issuance and Regulatory Applications, and Marina Ongaro, Deputy General Manager of Financial Regulation. The document was published in the First Section of the Official Gazette on November 13, 2026, with an issuance date of November 5, 2026.

Financing of municipal scope

The program covered by the authorization is not limited to the purchase of asphalt: the official designation includes the “linked infrastructure” for definitive paving, which expands the universe of works that can be financed with the securities issued by the entities.

The operation involves three levels of government in its regulatory design. The municipality of Rosario issues the instruments and provides the framework of Municipal Ordinance 10,274; the Treasury Secretariat of the National Ministry of Economy set the conditions through note NO-2026-104581708-APNSH#MEC; and the BCRA acts as the prudential regulator for the banks that purchase these securities.

The authorized amount—$72,000 million—makes the issuance one of the largest local financing operations framed within the financing regime for the non-financial public sector during the 2026 fiscal year, according to the terms arising from the published text itself.

For the municipality, the BCRA’s approval clears the regulatory obstacle that conditioned the placement: without it, financial entities could not acquire the instruments without being subject to the restriction of point 2.1. For the banks, the communication precisely defines the amount, the issuer, and the conditions that must be verified before subscribing, and leaves the requirement to diversify credit risk intact. Local public works financing is thus channeled by a general-scope regulation published in the Official Gazette.

Source: Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, November 13, 2026, First Section (official reference: notice 350300).