IFC Announces $300 Million Loan to Banistmo to Boost Financing for SMEs and Preferential Mortgages

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced a loan of $300 million to Banistmo, one of Panama's leading financial institutions, to promote financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and expand the offer of mortgage loans to the preferential segment.

The investment, which consists of $200 million for IFC's own account and a $100 million mobilization package, will allow Banistmo to address two development challenges simultaneously. On the one hand, it will help reduce the financing gap for SMEs in Panama, estimated by IFC at 41 percent of GDP, and, in the process, boost their productivity. On the other, it will contribute to addressing the country's housing deficit, which the authorities place at 175,000 homes.