BUENOS AIRES -- Argentine President Javier Milei issued an executive order turning the state-owned Banco de la Nacion Argentina into a public limited company, an official confirmed Thursday.

Widely viewed as a first step toward privatization, the transformation of one of the country's leading financial institutions was made by a decree signed by Milei on Wednesday, said the presidency's spokesperson Manuel Adorni.

The government will continue to own 99.9 percent of the capital stock and will exercise all its rights through the Economy Ministry.

In arguing for its decision, the government said the bank's former structure hampered its ability to compete on equal terms with other entities in the financial sector, restricting its access to new sources of financing and its ability to develop more dynamic and efficient commercial strategies.

In 2024, the institution was included in a list of state-owned companies to be privatized as part of Milei's key initiative to reduce the size of government and deregulate the economy.