A group of Venezuela bondholders have found a path to be repaid through the auction of the country’s U.S.-based oil refiner, Citgo Petroleum, and potentially avoid the risk of a separate adverse court ruling, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The leading bid for Citgo’s U.S.

Government-controlled Banco de Brasilia (BRB) only agreed to acquire the healthiest and most strategically relevant assets from fellow lender Banco Master after months of negotiations, BRB CEO Paulo Henrique Costa said in a Tuesday interview, Reuters reported. The agreement, announced on Friday and subject to review by the central bank, is still under due diligence that could eventually bring down the negotiated price of 2 billion reais ($350 million), to be paid over up to six years, he added.

Argentina and the International Monetary Fund may be on the home stretch over a $20 billion new program, but the deal has so far failed to dispel traders' anxiety and a haze of uncertainty around the outlook for the country's peso currency, Reuters reported. The South American nation, under libertarian President Javier Milei, is trying to rebuild investor confidence and bolster depleted foreign currency reserves after years of overspending that left the grains producer locked out of global markets and battling to stabilize its finances.

Nearly one-fifth of the population of San Pedro, Argentina about 16,000 people, would invest in RainbowEx, piling tens of millions of dollars into the cryptocurrency exchange. Joining RainbowEx was easy, even for crypto newbies. First, they downloaded the app from a website — it never appeared on Apple or Google’s app stores. Then, they visited one of the local private lending institutions called financieras. A clerk there would convert Argentine pesos into Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Argentina’s future program with the International Monetary Fund will be for $20 billion, while executive board approval could take weeks, Economy Minister Luis Caputo said at a conference Thursday, Bloomberg News reported. Caputo stopped short of announcing a formal staff-level agreement, but it’s the most concrete detail of the program after several months of negotiations between the IMF and President Javier Milei’s administration.

Brazil’s central bank lowered its economic growth forecast for this year, signaling further interest rate hikes will weigh on activity as policymakers fight inflation that’s speeding up further above target, Bloomberg News reported. The bank expects gross domestic product to expand 1.9% this year, down from the previous of estimate of 2.1%, according to its monetary policy report published Thursday. By comparison, analysts surveyed by the monetary authority see 1.98% growth in 2025.

Brazil’s central bank said it was important to signal that its cycle of interest rate hikes will continue in the face of an adverse inflation outlook, according to the minutes to its March 18-19 policy meeting, Bloomberg News reported. Local food prices are high and can also drive up costs in other sectors, while services inflation has accelerated in recent readings, policymakers wrote in the minutes to the meeting. Last week, they raised the benchmark Selic by a full percentage point to 14.25%, and signaled a smaller rise ahead.

Brazilian airline Gol said on Monday it had entered an exit financing commitment with certain investors, without naming them, as it eyed exiting chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, Reuters reported. Under the deal, the parties have committed to purchasing up to $1.25 billion of the $1.9 billion debt instruments to be issued as part of the process, which will be used to repay obligations under a debtor-in-possession financing. Read more.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will discuss a new $20 billion loan for Argentina during an informal meeting this week, Bloomberg News reported. The IMF will discuss a four-year extended fund facility of about 15 billion Special Drawing Rights. Argentina's lower house last Wednesday passed a decree issued earlier in the month supporting a new IMF program, allowing the government to begin talks with the IMF to bolster central bank reserves and potentially undo capital controls.

Brazil’s central bank raised its key rate by a full percentage point for the third meeting and cued a smaller hike at its next gathering as policymakers weigh resilient inflation and signs of an economic slowdown, Bloomberg News reported. Policymakers led by Gabriel Galipolo lifted the benchmark Selic to 14.25% late on Wednesday, the highest level since October 2016. The central bank has now tightened by 3.75 percentage points over its last five decisions.