Colombia Swaps US$6 Billion of Bonds in Debt Deal
ECONOMY · COLOMBIA
Key Facts
- —The country Colombia funds much of its budget with TES, the peso Treasury bonds sold to local and foreign investors.
- —What happened On 2 October 2026 the Finance Ministry swapped COP19.8 trillion (about US$5.98 billion) of TES due by November 2027 for longer bonds.
- —The numbers Repayments fall COP2.4 trillion (about US$725 million) in 2026 and COP17.4 trillion (about US$5.25 billion) in 2027, the ministry said on 2 October.
- —What it means for you The debt is not reduced, only pushed later. Holders of short TES received bonds maturing as late as 2062, at a cost of about US$162 million.
- —Still open Two more swap windows are set for 22 October and 19 November 2026. No target size has been published for either.
Colombia debt reprofiling began on 2 October 2026, when the Finance Ministry swapped COP19.8 trillion (about US$5.98 billion) of TES. The bonds handed back fell due within 14 months; investors received paper maturing as late as February 2062.
Finance Minister Miguel Gómez Martínez said the aim was to manage refinancing risk proactively and improve liquidity management. Portafolio, Semana and Bloomberg Línea reported the figures from the ministry’s statement of 2 October; dollar values use COP3,312 per US dollar, the 2 October close.
Which bonds changed hands
The ministry took back five TES lines, according to the table published by Bloomberg Línea. The largest were COP8.8 trillion (about US$2.66 billion) due 17 March 2027 and COP7.8 trillion (about US$2.36 billion) due 3 November 2027.
Smaller amounts were due 20 October 2026, COP1.5 trillion (about US$453 million), and 17 November 2026, COP900 billion (about US$272 million). A further COP755 billion (about US$228 million) was due 26 January 2027.
In return the Treasury delivered COP19.6 trillion (about US$5.92 billion) across 12 bond lines. They mature between July 2027 and February 2062, with the largest, COP3.8 trillion (about US$1.15 billion), due in January 2035.
How the swap was run
A competitive tranche placed COP11.3 trillion (about US$3.41 billion). Offers reached COP14.7 trillion (about US$4.44 billion), so 77% of the amount bid was accepted.
A noncompetitive tranche added COP8.5 trillion (about US$2.57 billion). Semana reported that COP5.6 trillion (about US$1.69 billion) of it came from the ministry’s own Public Credit and Treasury directorate.
The 13 firms in the TES market-maker programme took part, alongside local and foreign investors. Market makers are banks and brokers that commit to quoting government bond prices every day.
What the swap costs and what it buys
The ministry put the cost at COP536 billion (about US$162 million), or 2.7% of the amount exchanged. The average life of domestic debt rose from 9.97 to 10.17 years.
The relief is concentrated in 2027, when scheduled repayments fall by COP17.4 trillion (about US$5.25 billion). Gómez said the operation leaves the country better placed for the fiscal challenges of that year.
Colombia debt reprofiling of this kind does not shrink the debt stock. It trades near-term cash pressure for longer obligations and a premium paid to bondholders.
The pressure it addresses is not new. Rio Times reported in July that Colombia’s next government faced a debt wall of US$175 billion by 2030.
Investor appetite has held up, however: bids exceeded the amount placed by about 30%. In late September, Bank of America also issued an overweight call on Colombian bonds.
What Is Not Yet Known
The ministry has not published target sizes for the next windows on 22 October and 19 November 2026. It has also not said how far the programme will run into 2027 maturities.
Bloomberg Línea’s table shows about COP3.18 trillion (about US$959 million) of the new bonds maturing between July and September 2027. The ministry has not said whether its COP17.4 trillion figure for 2027 is net of that amount.
The statement itself was not posted on the ministry’s news page as of 3 October. The figures here are as reported by Portafolio, Semana and Bloomberg Línea, which match each other.
Sources: Colombian Finance Ministry (Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Público) statement of 2 October 2026, as reported by Portafolio, Semana and Bloomberg Línea (2–3 October 2026); La Patria (3 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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