U.S. banks seeking collateral to back Argentina’s $20 billion bailout plan, WSJ reports.

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Oct. 20 (Reuters) – A group of U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N)open a new tabBank of America (BAC.N)open a new tab and Goldman Sachs (GS.N)open a new tabis reluctant to lend $20 billion to Argentina without collateral or guarantees, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that his department was working with banks and investment funds to create a $20 billion facility to invest in the South American country’s sovereign debt.

Bankers are awaiting guidance from the Treasury Department on what guarantees Argentina would be able to provide them or whether Washington would consider supporting the mechanism on its own, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The loan mechanism has not been finalized and may not be put in place if the issue of bank guarantees is not resolved, the report said.

“Discussions on this facility are continuing and we look forward to sharing more details once these negotiations are completed,” a U.S. Treasury spokesperson told Reuters.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment, while JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Argentina’s central bank announced Monday that it had signed a $20 billion exchange rate stabilization agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department, providing a total of $40 billion in U.S. support to Latin America’s third-largest economy. The Treasury also purchased Argentine pesos on the open market.

The U.S. facilities also raise the possibility of a conflict between the IMF and the Treasury Department, with fund officials concerned that the Trump administration will pressure Argentina to prioritize U.S. bonds ahead of large IMF loans, according to the WSJ report.

The IMF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Reporting by Anusha Shah and Ruchika Khanna in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel, Subhranshu Sahu and Alan Barona

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