Citi and Banco Pichincha Sign $15 Million Loan Agreement Benefiting Microfinance in Ecuador

Quito, Ecuador, May 29, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Citibank, N.A. Ecuador and Banco del Pichincha reached a five-year, $15 million financing agreement in April to support and promote the development of microfinance in Ecuador. Citi financing will fund Banco del Pichincha individual and group microbusiness portfolio, contributing to the development and sustainability of approximately 5,000 new microenterprises in the country.

The agreement is part of a $250 million accord between Citi and the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to fund microfinance programs in emerging countries. OPIC seeks out private capital to promote the development of strategic sectors with a high social impact.

Citi has had a continued presence in Ecuador for 53 years and offers world-class financial products and services and contributes to the nation’s development. According to Diana Torres, General Manager of Citi Ecuador, “This agreement underscores Citi’s strength in consistently identifying opportunities to serve our clients and the community, taking advantage of Citi’s global reach and broad platform of financial products and services.”

Citi has provided nearly $50 million in financing options for microenterprise in Ecuador over the last six years in collaboration with strategic partners such as Banco Pichincha and OPIC. These types of agreements have contributed to the development and growth of the microfinance sector at the country’s private banks.

Banco Pichincha accounts for the largest share of the microenterprise segment in Ecuador, supporting nearly 250,000 microbusiness owners with financial tools including loans. Its portfolio in this sector totaled $579 million in March 2013, the equivalent of 45 percent of all private bank loans. To extend and improve the scope of its services, Banco Pichincha uses individual and group methodologies. Since 1999, via its subsidiary Credife, Banco Pichincha has had a strategic agreement with Action International, a nonprofit organization and microfinance pioneer devoted to developing comprehensive financial services for Ecuador’s microenterprise sector. The agreement with Citi not only represents a new source of financing for Banco Pichincha but also offers an effective way to direct its operations in the microfinance sector over the long term.

“We are pleased to work alongside Citi in a segment such as microfinance, which we consider to have profound social importance,” commented Fernando Pozo Crespo, General Manager of Banco Pichincha. Citibank, N.A. Ecuador, a financial institution authorized to operate under the laws of the Republic of Ecuador, is Citi.

Citi
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

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Banco Pichincha
Banco Pichincha is Ecuador's largest private bank, with US$8.093 million in assets as of December 2012, accounting for 29.1% of the country’s financial system. It has 304 points of service, 738 ATMs, 67 automatic deposit terminals and 81 self-service kiosks across Ecuador. It was the first Latin American bank to operate as a corporate bank in Spain and it has a strong presence across the region: in Peru, via Banco Financiero del Perú; in Colombia, as Banco Pichincha S.A.; and in Miami, as Banco Pichincha Miami Agency. It is rated AAA- for risk by Bank Watch Ratings, an affiliate of Fitch, and AAA- by Pacific Credit Rating, which describes it as an institution with a distinguished track record in terms of profits and a clear and stable outlook.

OPIC
Established as an agency of the US government in 1971, OPIC helps US companies invest abroad, promoting economic development in emerging markets, complementing the private sector in managing the risks associated with direct foreign investment, and advancing US foreign policy. In its 38 years of operations, OPIC has contributed US$188 billion in investments that have helped developing countries generate more than 830,000 jobs. OPIC projects have also generated US$72 billion in US exports and supported more than 273,000 American jobs. For more information, please visit www.opic.gov.