Franco Parisi, secretary general of the People's Party (PDG) and a former presidential candidate, called on President José Antonio Kast to intervene over pension fund losses. According to Parisi, the losses were caused by trades in U.S. interest rate derivatives.
"The pension fund administrators have just lost US$11,000 million from workers' funds," the economist said, according to CNN Chile. He attributed the decline to speculation by pension fund administrators (AFPs) involving U.S. interest rate swaps.
An interest rate swap is a derivative contract in which two parties exchange payments tied to different interest rates. According to the available information, the AFPs were betting on a decline in U.S. interest rates. The sources do not detail how each position was structured.
The figures vary depending on the calculation. Diario Financiero estimated the accumulated deterioration in 2026 in swaps held by pension funds at US$11,600 million. That amount matches the figure Parisi mentioned.
Bloomberg, cited by T13, provided another measurement. A year ago, those positions had a positive valuation of around US$1,400 million. By September, they had accumulated a negative valuation of approximately US$7,700 million. Economists disagree on the scale of the impact.
The hardest hit is Fund E, the most conservative of the five pension fund options. According to Diario Financiero, swaps account for around 80% of its nominal decline this year. Between January and September, this fund has accumulated a negative real return of 10.4%.
That figure affects a specific group. The savings of people nearing retirement usually go into Fund E to protect them from volatility. "And who is going to pay for it? Mainly those who are about to retire," Parisi said. He described swaps as "complex and entirely speculative" instruments.
The party leader directed his criticism at La Moneda. "One misses seeing Chile's leader, meaning President Kast, stepping forward to take action on the matter," he said. So far, the sources have recorded no government response.
Parisi also called for accountability from the administrators and the regulator. "I hope some heads roll, at least at some AFPs, at some of the funds they manage. And, of course, at the Superintendency of Pensions as well," he said.
The call comes as the regulator has already acknowledged the problem. This Wednesday, Superintendent of Pensions Joaquín Cortez expressed concern about Fund E's decline. He also reported that the agency met with the AFPs a few weeks ago to assess the situation and determine courses of action, which have yet to be detailed.
