[China Co-Financing Fund] IDB administers $4 million loan from CHC to Banpaís for on-lending to SMEs

On 13 October 2017, the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC, now IDB Invest) signed a 12 million USD unsecured senior loan contract with Banco del Pais S.A. (Banpais), a commercial bank in Honduras. Of the 12 million USD, 8 million USD would be provided by IIC and the remaining 4 million USD would be provided by the China Co-Financing Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean (CHC). The loan has a five year maturity period and a 5.17% interest rate. The loan was used for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (“SME”), in an effort to expand Banpaís' SME portfolio. The funds could be used from November 17, 2017 through November 17, 2022, but were completely drawn down as of June 30, 2018. The first disbursement took place on September 15, 2017.

Additional details

1. IDB Invest uses the following language to describe the financing arrangement: "Of the US$12 million, the Inter-American Investment Corporation (“IIC”) will contribute US$8 million from its own account, and will bring potentially in an additional US$4 million through the China Co-Financing Fund." The IDB Invest financial summary notes 4 million USD as the syndicated/cofinancing amount for the project, which seems to signal that 4 million USD was provided by the China Co-Financing Fund. 2. The Banpaís financial summary for 2017-2018 confirms that a 12 million USD loan was acquired from the IIC, although it does not mention the Co-Financing Fund or any other contributors to the loan financing. 3. The China Co-Financing Fund was established on 14 January 2013 with a contribution of 2 billion USD by the People's Bank of China, and it is administered by the IDB. For more information, see Umbrella Project ID#86526.

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