World Bank Breaks LatAm Loan Record

The World Bank (WB) says it committed a record $17.1bn to LatAm and Caribbean countries in the financial year ended June 30, up 70% versus the previous fiscal year and a record-breaking amount. “Requests for assistance from the World Bank rose sharply this year, and we expect this to continue well into 2010, as the pace of recovery is far from certain,” says Bank president Robert Zoellick. The total includes a tripling to $14bn in commitments from the IBRD and IDA, mostly to Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Colombia. The IFC doubled in FY09 the number of investments in the region, supporting 122 projects in 21 countries, with a contribution of $3.3bn, of which $775m was in syndicated loans. The IFC also doubled its trade finance guarantees to the region to $825m, while MIGA provided $33.9m in guarantees.