Treasury financing cost 85 percent of GDP, Werning tells Senate
Banco Central de la República Argentina Vice President Vladimir Werning presented the economic foundation for Charter reform to the Senate on September 9, 2026. He demonstrated that monetary financing of the Treasury reached 85 percent of GDP between 2003 and 2023.
Eighty-five percent of GDP lost
Between 2003 and 2023, central bank transfers and subsidies to the National Treasury totaled 85 percent of GDP, equivalent to $553 billion.
According to BCRA data, this balance sheet damage comprised three main mechanisms: $116 billion (18 percent of GDP) in liquid international reserves transferred via Non-Transferable Bills, $299 billion (46 percent of GDP) in exogenous peso issuance through Temporary Advances and unrealized accounting profits, and $138 billion (21 percent of GDP) in interest paid to sterilize excess money.
During these two decades, cumulative inflation reached 50,141 percent, imposing an inflation tax on private savings equal to 60 percent of GDP, or $390 billion.
From legal loopholes to balance sheet repair
Werning explained that successive amendments to Charter Law 24.144 and Convertibility Law 23.928 between 2002 and 2022 institutionalized fiscal dominance over monetary policy.
The executive branch repeatedly raised ceilings on Temporary Advances and permitted reserve transfers.
Since December 2023, the BCRA has halted new Non-Transferable Bills, eliminated remunerated liabilities in July 2024, and lowered the stock of Temporary Advances to 0.4 percent of GDP by June 2026.
Codifying what practice already started
The reform exposes the severe cost of using the central bank as an unconstrained fiscal lender.
Legally binding the institution to price stability will anchor expectations only if Congress maintains strict budget discipline.
Without genuine legislative commitment, statutory limits remain vulnerable to future political erosion.