Category: Bonds

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has signed a $30 million subordinated loan to BBVA Banco Continental, in Peru. The loan constitutes the second component of a long-term financing facility by the IDB for Banco Continental to provide comprehensive support for mortgage origination and asset growth. The first portion, a $100 million senior A/B loan was signed December 8.

CAF, the Caracas-based Andean multilateral, is planning to issue up to $1 billion in bonds next year. The bonds will be issued in Latin America and in the international markets, with approximately 20% issued in local currency and the rest in US dollars. So far this year, CAF sold $809 million worth of bonds, with local currency issues in Venezuela and Peru. This year, the multilateral lent more money than ever, approving loans of $5.65 billion – 19% more than in 2005 – according to CAF president Enrique García.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $120 million long-term financing facility to Peru’s second-largest commercial bank – BBVA Banco Continental – to help support the Bank’s plans for mortgage origination. The financing will take the form of senior and subordinated debt and will “better match the maturity of its mortgage portfolio”, according to the IDB. Part of the financing will be disbursed in local currency to help develop soles-denominated mortgage portfolios in Peru.

Thumbprint ATMs, unveiled this month by Citibank in India, could also work in other parts of the world, including Latin America. “We are looking at how biometrics can be used more broadly as a way to provide lower income individuals access to banking services”, Robert Annibale, the Global Director of Citigroup’s Microfinance Group told LatinFinance. The new ATMs aid illiterate customers and have multiple language capabilities as well as voice navigation for balance inquiry, deposits and withdrawals. In India, the bank has set up a program, “Citibank Pragati” for microfinance customers, to try and increase participation in the banking system. Biometric ATMs are located at the bank’s partner microfinance institution’s offices and other areas near prospective customers.

Belize hopes to have greater access to financing after becoming a non-founding beneficiary of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei). Belize applied to become part of the Bank last August. The Bank currently has 10 members, of which five – El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica – are founding members and five are extraregional members: Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Spain and Taiwan. Panama and Dominican Republic are also hoping to join.

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei) has approved a $37 million loan to Nicaragua for the design and construction of its Larreynaga hydroelectric project in Jinotega. The power plant, which is set to take two years to complete, will have an installed capacity of 17MW and will help towards making up the country’s energy shortfall by boosting Nicaragua’s output by 3%. The country has seen a growing energy crisis this year and a mounting number of power outages.

The region’s largest multilateral lender, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), said Friday it had member agreement on a framework for debt relief for Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua. The Bank gave no final details of the agreement and concluded that a board of governors meeting in January 2007 in Amsterdam will define technical details for the implementation of the new debt reduction framework, with a presentation of agreements to be given in the Bank’s March meeting, due to be held in Guatemala City. The debt forgiveness will total between $2.1 billion and $3.5 billion, according to experts.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is considering launching a local-currency bond in Argentine pesos to add to those already issued in Mexican, Colombian, Chilean and Brazilian currencies. IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno has been visiting Argentina and has signed up to $1 billion in loans from the Bank to Argentina. According to reports in the Argentine media, Moreno and Central Bank president Martín Redrado have agreed to form a working party with experts from both institutions to examine the issue. The IDB, through its financing arm – the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), most recently issued a local-currency bond in Colombia last December. The Corporation successfully placed 150 billion pesos ($66 million equivalent) of the five-year bonds.