Bogota, Colombia, February 23, 2015
— The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced that Banco Financiero del Peru S.A.A., one of Peru’s largest banks, has joined its Global Trade Finance Program, which will bolster the financial support for foreign trade in Peru.
Banco Financiero del Peru, a member of Ecuador’s Grupo Pichincha, will have access to IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program. This program seeks to provide trade support for emerging markets by offering partial or full guarantees for specific trade transactions. The program is part of IFC’s solutions to support foreign trade and supply chains in emerging markets.
By joining this program, Banco Financiero del Peru, will be able to ramp up its support for the trade finance needs of Peruvian companies. Banco Financiero targets small and medium enterprises and corporate clients, offering them a suite of highly competitive banking products.
This program will allow Banco Financiero del Peru, Peru’s six largest bank, to increase its support for the trade finance needs of Peru’s enterprises. It will provide access to a global network of confirming banks, facilitate access to trade lines, and help provide comprehensive solutions for small and medium enterprises.
“With this operation Banco Financiero del Peru continues the process of diversifying its sources of financing. We are very pleased to join this program, whose resources will be used to consolidate the expansion of the bank’s placements in the foreign trade segment,” said Yliana Velarde León, Foreign Trade manager at Banco Financiero del Peru.
The Global Trade Finance Program allows IFC to provide its global clients with a flexible platform for their trade operations. The facility is activated when a commercial bank such as Banco Financiero del Peru requests a partial or full guarantee from IFC for specific trade-related transactions.
“This strategic partnership with Banco Financiero del Peru will help IFC boost the bank’s trade finance capacity for Peru’s import and export sector,” said Carlos Leiria Pinto, IFC Head for the Andean Region. “Banco Financiero’s membership in this program is part of IFC’s efforts to help strengthen and foster the development of financial markets in Peru,” he added.
Since the inception of the Global Trade Finance Program, IFC has issued over US$8.7 billion in guarantees to support trade flows in Latin America and the Caribbean. Almost 70 percent of the guarantees issued have benefited local small and medium enterprises and supported interregional trade flows among emerging market nations.
This new operation by IFC also reinforces its commitment to supporting Peru’s sustainable economic growth by improving access to finance for underserved SMEs. It is also an example of the strong relationship between the World Bank Group and Peru, which will host the IMF and World Bank Group’s Annual Meetings in Lima on October 2015.
IFC has invested a total of US$3.1 billion in Peru since 1956, when Peru became a member country, including US$1.1 billion in funding mobilized. IFC’s strategy in Peru aims to increase debt and equity financing, improve the investment climate and support key players in Peru’s private sector that can expand the country’s infrastructure as well as deliver products and services to underserved sectors, for example by expanding access to finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as access to housing, health and education finance.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. It works with private enterprises in 100 countries, utilizing its capital, expertise, and influence to help end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, it provided over US$22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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