OFID signs first-ever trade finance loan for Guatemala

Vienna, Austria, February 1, 2016. The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has signed its first-ever trade finance loan for Guatemala. The US$5m term loan is being extended to Banco Promerica (BP) to finance international trade activities of the bank; which will in turn benefit the people of Guatemala.

The sustained growth of Guatemala’s economy and the low penetration of financial services in the country offer a significant opportunity for Banco Promerica to continue growing, by expanding its activities, especially to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Banco Promerica has over 20 years of experience in the Guatemalan market and it is one of the subsidiaries of the Promerica Financial Corporation (PFC), a regional banking group active in nine countries. This is OFID’s second term loan to the PFC and the first to its subsidiary in Guatemala.

OFID’s loan will assist in employment generation and help boost economic growth in the country. It will also contribute to the strengthening of the financial and banking sector by increasing the access to international trade finance loans for Guatemalan enterprises, thereby encouraging competition.

The loan agreement was signed by OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish and by Banco Promerica General Manager Edgar Rolando Bran Alvarado.