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Washington, D.C., April 1, 2009
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced that Paraguay’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. has joined its Global Trade Finance Program to expand access to trade finance for local small and medium enterprises and help mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis.
By joining IFC’s program as an issuing bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, a subsidiary of Grupo BBVA, will be able to expand its trade finance solutions to small and medium enterprises operating in key export and import sectors. The bank focuses on commercial lending products and consumer finance and provides innovative financial services for its SMEs and corporate clients.
The IFC Global Trade Finance Program supports trade with emerging markets worldwide by providing risk mitigation. By extending and complementing banks’ capacity to deliver trade finance solutions, IFC aims to increase developing countries’ share of global trade and promote South-South flows of goods and services. The program now has a network of more than 300 participating banks from around the world.
“We are pleased to join IFC’s trade finance program,” said Vicente Bogliolo, Executive President of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria. “This will complement our efforts to expand access to trade finance lines from international banks and allow us to continue supporting the growth of trade business in Paraguay.”
Enrique Cañas, IFC Country Manager for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, said: “We welcome Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Paraguay into our trade finance program. This new association is consistent with IFC’s strategy in Paraguay— to promote access to finance for SMEs— and with our commitment to strengthening the local financial market.”
Since launching the Global Trade Finance Program, IFC has issued $1.3 billion in guarantees to facilitate trade flows with Latin America and the Caribbean. The network of issuing banks for the region has expanded to 33 banks in 13 countries. More than 40 percent of the guarantees issued benefited local small and midsize businesses and supported interregional trade flows between emerging market nations. For more information about the program, contact Antonio Alves, Head of Trade Finance for Latin America and the Caribbean Region, at
aalves@ifc.org
, or visit
www.ifc.org/gtfp
.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Paraguay S.A.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. is the largest bank by loans in Paraguay. The bank caters to large corporations, institutions, small and midsize companies, as well as individuals. Its active and strict risk management is a core value and makes BBVA Paraguay the best class in risk quality. Trade finance plays an increasingly important role in the bank’s strategy, as it reports trade finance activities in excess of $120 million annually. For more information, visit:
http://www.bbva.com.py/
.
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