IFC Guarantees Honduran Loan

The IFC is guaranteeing 36% of a subnational loan for Honduras’ central district municipality for $44m equivalent in local currency. This is the first time that the IFC has guaranteed a loan in Honduras not backed by the sovereign, says Javier Atala, general manager and executive vice president of Banco Financiera Comercial Hondurena (Ficohsa), lead arranger on the loan. The loan has an 8-year term and pays 16%, he tells LatinFinance.. Besides Ficohsa, others participating in the syndication are Banco Atlantida and Banco de Occidente. Out of the 16% interest rate, he says the banks syndicating the loan will divide 14% in equal parts and the IFC will get the remainder as commission. Ficohsa is lending $14.7m equivalent, Occidente $13.2m and Atlantida $13.2m, Atala says. The loan will be used to repair roads and implement an early flood warning system in the district, which includes Tegucigalpa.