Argentina Central Bank Reform Clears Senate 46 to 22, Heads Back to Deputies
ARGENTINA · ECONOMY
Key Facts
- What happened Argentina’s Senate approved the central bank charter reform by 46 votes to 22 on Thursday 24 September 2026.
- What it changes The central bank’s only job becomes protecting the peso’s value, and lending to governments is banned.
- The catch Senators rewrote how the bank’s leaders are appointed and removed, so the Chamber of Deputies must vote again.
- Who it affects Future governments lose the option of having the central bank print money to cover their deficits.
- What comes next Deputies can accept the Senate text or restore theirs with two-thirds of members present; no date is set.
The Argentina central bank reform gives the bank one job, protecting the peso, and stops it printing money for the government.
Argentina’s Senate on Thursday approved a rewrite of the central bank’s founding law, one of President Javier Milei’s flagship reforms. The Argentina central bank reform passed by 46 votes to 22, with changes that send it back to the lower house.
If it becomes law, the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA) will have one goal: preserving the peso’s value. It will also be barred from lending to the national government, the provinces and the municipalities.
What the Argentina Central Bank Reform Changes
The current charter, amended in 2012, gives the BCRA several goals at once. Besides the value of the currency, it covers financial stability, jobs and economic development with social equity.
The reform scraps that list and leaves one mission: protect the peso. It also removes the bank’s power to steer credit towards chosen sectors.
It ends the two tools past governments used to draw money from the bank. These are adelantos transitorios, short-term cash advances, and letras intransferibles, non-tradable IOUs the Treasury gives the bank for its reserves.
The bank may no longer buy government bonds when they are first issued. It can still trade them on the open market, at market prices, for monetary goals.
Profits from a weaker peso or a higher gold price can no longer be sent to the Treasury as dividends. Those paper gains must stay in the bank’s capital.
The bill’s own explanatory note admits the old practice was widespread. It says governments since the end of the dollar peg in 2002 used it, including Milei’s own.
International reserves are declared immune from seizure by creditors. While old Treasury debts to the bank remain unpaid, part of its yearly profit must go towards settling them.
The bill also ends the president’s power to remove bank officials on his own. It drops the Economy Ministry’s seat at board meetings.
How Argentina Got Here
Milei presented the reform in a national television address on 30 July. He has made ending money printing the core of his plan against inflation.
The rules on removing bank chiefs carry history. In 2010, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner clashed with bank president Martín Redrado over the use of reserves.
A congressional commission, part of the charter since 1992, then advised on his removal. The reform scraps that commission; Santiago Bausili is the bank’s current president.
Why the Senate Sent It Back
The Chamber of Deputies had passed the bill on 26 August by 144 votes to 102, with 9 abstentions. That version needed a two-thirds vote in both chambers to remove the bank’s president or directors.
Senators cut the lower house out. Removal will be decreed by the president with prior approval of an absolute majority of the Senate, 37 of 72 votes.
Appointments will also need those 37 Senate votes. Terms stay at six years and can be renewed.
Senator Agustín Monteverde of Milei’s La Libertad Avanza said the blocs had agreed to revise the rules for the bank’s leadership. The rewritten article passed 66 to 2, with Peronist votes.
In the same session, the Senate turned into law changes to the Zona Fría scheme, which subsidises gas bills in colder regions. That bill does not need another vote.
What Milei Said, and a Rough Day for Markets
Milei celebrated on social media. “The end of inflation begins,” he wrote, sharing a post by Senator Patricia Bullrich.
Bullrich said the law has a technical name but is really about protecting the value of the currency. Opposition senators said a single goal would neglect credit and growth, and objected to using reserves as collateral.
Markets had a tense day. Country risk, the extra yield investors demand on Argentine bonds, neared 580 points on 24 September, financial daily Ámbito reported.
Central bank reserves have fallen by almost US$2 billion in three weeks, the same outlet said. Official data the same day showed poverty at 32.3% in the first half and activity down 2.9% in July.
Why It Matters If You Live or Invest in Argentina
Argentina’s worst bouts of inflation came when governments ran deficits and had the central bank print the money. A legal ban makes that harder to repeat under a future government.
It is not a permanent guarantee. A future Congress could change the law again, but it would need a new vote in both chambers first.
For people who earn, save or pay rent in pesos, the reform is a promise about the long term. It does not change prices, rents or the exchange rate this month.
For investors, an independent central bank is one of the signals they weigh when judging Argentine bonds. We looked at that debate in our report on Argentina’s New York week.
What Comes Next
The bill now returns to the Chamber of Deputies. If deputies accept the Senate’s changes, the reform becomes law.
To restore their own wording, deputies would need two-thirds of the members present. That is a high bar, since the Senate passed its version by more than two-thirds.
No date for the lower-house vote had been set by Friday morning, 25 September. Once passed, the law is promulgated and takes effect after publication in the Boletín Oficial, the official gazette.
Sources: Infobae, Senate changes to the BCRA reform, 24 September 2026; Sitio Andino, what the Senate changed, 24 September 2026; Diario Crónica, Milei and Bullrich reaction, 24 September 2026; Ámbito, markets live blog, 24 September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Argentina’s central bank reform do?
It gives the BCRA a single mission, preserving the value of the peso. It also bans the bank from lending to the national government, provinces and municipalities.
Why does the bill go back to the Chamber of Deputies?
The Senate changed the rules for appointing and removing the bank’s leaders. The chamber that first passed a bill must review any changes made by the other.
How did the Senate vote?
It approved the reform by 46 votes to 22 on Thursday 24 September 2026. The Chamber of Deputies had passed its version on 26 August by 144 to 102.
Will this lower inflation right away?
No. It changes the rules for the long term, not prices this month. Its main effect is to stop the bank from printing money to pay government bills.
Connected Coverage
- Argentina Passes Central Bank Reform in Lower House
- Argentina’s Senate Takes Up the Central Bank Charter
- Argentina Explained 2026: Milei’s Experiment and the Economy
- Argentina Country Risk Jumps to 524 as Merval Falls 2.5%
In depth
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