Chile’s BICE and Brazil’s Bicbanco are the first to tap into the IDB’s access2services facility
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has launched a new pilot credit facility for banks in Latin America to boost lending for high social impact sectors. Banco BICE SA of Chile and Brazil’s Banco Industrial e Comercial SA (Bicbanco) are the first financial institutions in the region to tap the resources of this facility to boost lending to health and education.
“There is a very significant market opportunity for private sector actors to complement the public health and education services in terms of increasing access to low-income populations with high-quality services,’’ said Daniela Carrera-Marquis, Chief of the IDB Financial Markets Division at the Structured and Corporate Finance Department. “Financial institutions are well positioned market players to channel financing for these key strategic sectors.”
The new facility, called access2services, is part of the IDB’s beyondBanking program, which seeks to promote sustainable environmental, social and corporate governance principles among Latin American and Caribbean financial intermediaries through financial and technical cooperation.
Besides accessing funds from this new facility, Banco BICE and Bicbanco will also receive IDB financing to boost lending in strategic business sectors, including environmentally sustainable projects and small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), respectively.
“The developmental impact of these transactions is significant,” said Marcelo Paz, IDB project team leader. “The expansion of credit to social areas, such as health and education, coupled with increased funding to help mitigate the effects of climate change in Chile and promoting credit access to SMEs in the least favored regions of Brazil, is directly aligned with IDB’s developmental goals and is expected to be replicated within the region.”
Total IDB financing for Banco BICE in Chile will be in the form of a $50 million senior unsecured loan, whose proceeds will be used to support the expansion of lending to health and education as well as environmentally friendly projects, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency among others.
For Bicbanco, the IDB has approved a $50 million senior unsecured loan that is expected to be complemented by a syndicated loan (B loan) in the international market. Proceeds from the IDB financing will be used to support Bicbanco’s expansion in lending to small and medium-sized companies in Brazil, particularly in the less developed center and northeastern states, and further develop and enhance the bank’s lending to education and health projects.
About the IDB's Structured and Corporate Finance Department
The Structured and Corporate Finance Department (SCF) leads all IDB's non-sovereign guaranteed operations for large-scale projects, as well as those linked to companies and financial institutions. Through its Loan Syndication Program, SCF acts as a catalyst, helping to engage third-party resources by partnering with commercial banks, institutional investors, co-guarantors and other co-lenders for projects with high developmental impact.