Lima, Peru, October 14, 2010
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and FMO, the entrepreneurial development bank of the Netherlands, will provide $30 million to Banco Interamericano de Finanzas to develop longer-term financial products for midsize businesses in Peru.
The IFC-FMO investment could help increase the number of small-business loans that BIF disburses by at least 3,500 a year from 2010 to 2014. The investment consists of a $15 million senior loan for IFC’s account and a $15 million senior debt mobilized from FMO. It is the first parallel loan to a financial institution under an agreement signed by IFC and FMO in October 2009.
“This financing package will help diversify BIF’s funding sources and increase its duration, while creating a robust base to expand our support to Peruvian SMEs,” said Juan Ignacio de la Vega, BIF’s General Manager.
Jorrit Dingemans, FMO Investment Officer Financial Institutions, said, “Long-term financing for small and medium enterprises is still relatively scarce in Peru, and we are pleased to be able to support BIFC in expanding access to such financing to more than 1,000 additional SME clients.”
IFC and BIF have been partners since 2007, when IFC provided BIF with a subordinated loan of $18 million. In 2009, IFC provided a $15 million trade-finance facility to increase the bank’s trade capacity with exporter and importer clients. With that investment, BIF became the first issuing bank under IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program in Peru.
“In strengthening our partnership with BIF, we plan to continue addressing the financial needs of Peru’s small and medium enterprises, a key component for private sector growth and an essential source of employment in the country,” said Enrique Cañas, IFC Regional Manager for Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
An IFC strategic priority in Peru and in Latin America is to help deepen the financial sector and improve access to financing and banking services to segments that currently are not served by large banks, such as agribusiness, microfinance, and small and medium enterprises. As of September 2010, IFC’s committed portfolio in the country was close to $814 million.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
For more information about FMO, please visit
www.fmo.nl
.
For more information about Banco Interamericano de Finanzas, please visit
www.bif.com.pe
.
