Bogotá, Colombia, December 21, 2012
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Credivalores – Crediservicios are partnering to expand the access to financial services to Colombian low-income households and support the overall economic growth in the country.
IFC is providing a $25 million loan to Credivalores, one of the largest non-banking financial institutions providing credit to low-income people. The company currently serves more than 175,000 clients in 24 states. Since 2003, the company has financed more than 400,000 individuals and about 72% of their clients received access to credit for the first time.
Although Colombia’s recent economic performance has been positive, banking penetration remains low with only 6.6% of the total population considered to have access to consumer credit through commercial banks.
“IFC’s support will allow us to increase access to finance in rural areas and reduce gaps in the formal financing for our clients,” said David Seinjet, Credivalores’ CEO.
IFC’s financing is consistent with the World Bank Group’s strategy in Colombia to expand opportunities to increase economic growth and competitiveness, reduce poverty and inequality, and enhance the level of financial services being offered in rural areas.
Giri Jadeja, IFC Manager for Financial Markets in Latin America and the Caribbean, said, “We are working with Credivalores to promote lending to the underserved sector of the economy. Our support advances efforts to ensure that a number of products and financial services are made available to a key economic sector that do not have access to formal financing and need it.”
With this investment IFC supports an emerging business in Colombia and a consumer finance company that offers an alternative and secure mechanism to reach the underserved segment of the population.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About Credivalores
Credivalores is the result of the merger of two sister companies in 2009 (Crediservicios S.A. and Credivalores S.A), which were established in Cali, Colombia in 2003 with the purpose of lending to individuals and small companies. The Company focuses on payroll-deduction loans, consumer lending collected through public utility bills, discount of checks and financing of micro insurance policies to low and middle income individuals. With 36 branches Credivalores has served over 400,000 clients.
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