Promerica de Costa Rica Gets Mortgage Boost

The IDB has approved a $15m loan for Banco Promerica de Costa Rica to help the bank expand its long-term mortgage operations and loans for environmentally sustainable projects. “Through mortgage financing, the project responds to an increased demand to channel resources to a population with traditionally limited access to credit for housing.” says Daniela Carrera Marquis, head of the IDB’s financial markets division. Banco Promerica will improve opportunities for the middle-income segment to buy residential property, thus entering a new market and downscaling from its more traditional operations, oriented towards higher income customers. Promerica is part of a regional network that includes financial institutions in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic and Ecuador.