Argentina's government on Dec. 21 issued a 3-month treasury letter worth 48 billion pesos to state-owned Banco de la Nación Argentina, representing the government's largest debt placement of 2016, according to a resolution published by the finance ministry in the government's official journal.

The loan, which expires March 21, 2017, will pay an annualized interest rate of 24.13% plus a margin of 116 basis points, resulting in a total annual interest rate of 25.29%.

The amount includes the refinancing of payments received by Banco de la Nación during the year, El Cronista reported. In this regard, the Treasury transferred US$8.19 billion to Banco Nación in October to increase the lending capacity of the state-owned bank, the report said.

The decision to place the new debt instrument comes one day after the central bank, Banco Central de la República Argentina, reportedly acquired US$700 million from operations as part of the government's tax amnesty program for taxpayers.

As of Dec. 21, US$1 was equivalent to 15.83 Argentine pesos.