Argentina says demand for Swiss franc bonds exceeded amount sold

(Adds details on Argentina financing plan, quote from Caputo)

BUENOS AIRES, March 23 (Reuters) - Argentine Finance Minister Luis Caputo said demand for Swiss franc bonds had exceeded the 400 million Swiss francs ($402.94 million) the country sold on Thursday, and that the timing of a return to the global bond markets would depend on the advice of banks.

Argentina plans to sell $10 billion in bonds on the international market this year. In January it sold $7 billion in five- and 10-year dollar bonds. Caputo had previously said the rest would be sold in other currencies, likely Swiss francs, euros or Japanese yen.

Last month, Caputo said the government planned to issue between $1.5 billion and $2 billion of Swiss franc bonds in two to three sales this year.

On Thursday, he said banks had initially advised there would be demand for between 300 million and 500 million Swiss francs, though more likely closer to 300 million, so the sale began with an offer for 300 million in bonds.

"There was demand for more than 400 (million), but we stayed for now at 400," Caputo said.

He added that the selection of currencies for future bond sales would also depend on the recommendation of banks.

BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and UBS were the lead banks on the sale of the bond, which will mature in October 2020 and has an interest rate of 3.375 percent.

($1 = 0.9927 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Luc Cohen; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Diane Craft and Leslie Adler)