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Washington, D.C./São Paulo, Brazil, November 11, 2011—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, FIMBank plc, the Malta-based trade finance bank, and BICBANCO today launched BRASILFACTORS to offer domestic and cross-border factoring and related services to Brazilian small and medium enterprises.
This joint venture is launched with an initial equity investment of $10 million, which may increase to $25 million as the business develops. FIMBank and BICBANCO each have acquired a 40 percent stake in the new company while IFC has acquired the remaining 20 percent.
Brazil has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. But SMEs there generally have limited access to funding and sophisticated trade solutions. BRASILFACTORS aims to help fill this gap by providing short-term funding against receivables. It will also provide management solutions, such as risk protection and collection services, for both domestic and export transactions.
The factoring industry is considered an important financing alternative for SMEs because it provides an integrated service that includes the purchase of the small or medium enterprise’s trade-related receivables, trade bill collection, and administration. These services allow SMEs to take advantage of strong growth opportunities and overcome capital and access-to-finance constraints.
BRASILFACTORS was launched in São Paulo at an inauguration ceremony led by FIMBank Chairman Najeeb Al Saleh and President Margrith Lutschg Emmenegger, BICBANCO Vice President Milto Bardini, and IFC Head of Equity - Financial Markets, Latin America and the Caribbean Paulo de Bolle.
FIMBank’s Al Saleh, said: "Small and medium enterprises are a decisive driver for the growth of the Brazilian economy and products such as factoring play a key role in supporting these companies, as we have seen in many other countries where factoring has been a great success."
BICBANCO’s Bardini said: “The launch of BRASILFACTORS reaffirms our commitment to Brazilian entrepreneurs at all levels. We believe that SMEs stand to benefit substantially from the management solutions and services BRASILFACTORS will offer.”
IFC’s de Bolle said: “Our support to BRASILFACTORS is part of IFC’s strategy to help reduce income inequality by strengthening the competitiveness and access to finance for SMEs, and integrate small producers into the supply chain.”
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, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About FIMBAnk
FIMBank is a leading provider of trade finance and factoring solutions. Headquartered in Malta, its strategy is to further strengthen its global presence, with a focus on emerging markets, and enhancing the product range on offer, namely trade finance, structured commodity finance, factoring and forfaiting. The Bank has offices in Malta, London, and Dubai, and through its wholly owned subsidiary London Forfaiting Company, is present in a number of important financial centres. FIMBank places a strategic focus on the Factoring and Forfaiting business, with factoring joint-venture companies in Egypt, UAE, Lebanon, Russia, and India. For more information about FIMBank and its global factoring operations, please visit
www.fimbank.com
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About BICBANCO
Founded in 1938, BICBANCO is one of the oldest private-sector banks in Brazil. Controlled by the Bezerra de Menezes Financial Group since its foundation, it became a nation-wide bank during the 1980s. BICBANCO focuses on credit operations to the middle market segment and is ranked as the fifth largest private capital national bank in the country.
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