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Washington, D.C., March 25, 2007
—IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, today announced that Banco Supervielle in Argentina has joined its Global Trade Finance Program as an issuing bank.
IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program promotes trade with emerging markets worldwide by supporting flows of goods and services to and from developing countries. Through the program, IFC provides guarantee coverage of bank risk in emerging markets, allowing recipients to expand their trade finance transactions within an extensive network of countries and banks, thus enhancing their trade finance coverage.
Julio Piekarz, Director for Banco Supervielle, said, “Participating in the Global Trade Finance Program will help us build a strong relationship with IFC and enable us to provide better service in trade finance to our clients, helping increase their business in new markets around the world.”
Yolande Duhem, IFC Senior Manager for the Southern Cone, said, “The Global Trade Finance Program is a key element of our strategy in Argentina. Our main focus is on reaching out to banks that support the growth of small and medium enterprises.” She also noted that IFC’s emphasis on smaller businesses is part of its strategy to generate jobs and promote economic growth as a way to reduce poverty.
James Peter Scriven, IFC Associate Director for Financial Markets in Latin America, said, “Our program will help Banco Supervielle increase its ability to provide innovative trade solutions to its clients, especially small and medium enterprises, as well as enlarge its network of correspondent banks.”
Other Argentine banks that have joined the program are BBVA Banco Frances and Banco Patagonia. For these banks, the program has provided guarantees for pre-export finance transactions and import letters of credit for a total value of $37.7 million since its inception in Argentina in 2005.
About IFC
IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, promotes open and competitive markets in developing countries. IFC supports sustainable private sector companies and other partners in generating productive jobs and delivering basic services, so that people have opportunities to escape poverty and improve their lives. Through FY06, IFC Financial Products has committed more than $56 billion in funding for private sector investments and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC Advisory Services and donor partners have provided more than $1 billion in program support to build small enterprises, to accelerate private participation in infrastructure, to improve the business enabling environment, to increase access to finance, and to strengthen environmental and social sustainability. For more information, please visit
www.ifc.org
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About Banco Supervielle
Banco Supervielle is owned by Banco Banex S.A., and together they form the Supervielle Group, the sixth-largest private banking group in Argentina. The bank operates 122 branches and payment centers, which are mainly concentrated in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Mendoza, San Luis, and Santa Fe. Banco Supervielle focuses on individuals and the middle-market clients and corporate segments in Argentina, including American and European corporations in the country. It specializes in consumer loans, credit cards, payroll payments, factoring, trade, leasing, and financial trustees, and it holds a diversified portfolio in retail, auto parts, civil construction, agrochemical, manufacturing, and other industries. Joining IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program will help Banco Supervielle expand, helping serve the trade finance needs of the country’s small and medium enterprises. It will also help the bank to consolidate its business in other segments. For more information, visit
www.supervielle.com.ar/
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