36720 - BTK SL

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Summary of Investment Information

Project Number

36720

Company Name

BANQUE TUNISO- KOWEITIENNE SA

Date SPI Disclosed

Dec 14, 2015

Country

Tunisia

Region

Africa

Projected Board Date

Jan 15, 2016

Environmental Category

FI-2 - Limited

Status

Completed

Last Updated Date

Sep 30, 2022

Department

Regional Industry - FIG Africa

Industry

Financial Markets

Previous Events

Approved : Mar 16, 2016
Signed : Jul 14, 2016
Invested : Dec 28, 2016

Sector

Commercial Banking - General

Project Description

The proposed project will support the expansion of Banque Tunisio-Koweitienne (“BTK” or the “Bank”), a subsidiary of French banking group BPCE, by providing a long term senior loan which will enable the Bank to extend its lending program in local currency to SMEs, in a context where long term local currency financing is limited.

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	43.53
Equity

IFC's loan to the financial institution described in this SII is targeted for on-lending to the following sector(s):

Product Type	Use of Proceeds
Straight Senior Loan	Loans to SME Borrowers

IFC's Definitions of Targeted Sectors can be found here.

Development Impact

(i) Increase access to credit for SMEs: The IFC loan will support the continued growth of the Bank''s loan portfolio in local currency, especially with regards to long term lending.
(ii) Improve foreign investors'' confidence in the Tunisian financial sector: The IFC loan will provide a strong positive signal to foreign investors and positively impact economic development and job creation.

Indicator	Metrics	Comments	Calendar Year 2022	Calendar Year 2023	Calendar Year 2024
CORE - E and S Management Systems (Y/N)	Compliance/Enhancement		Not Available	Not Available	Not Available

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

This project is classified as Category FI-2 project according to IFC’s Environmental and Social Review Procedure. BTK’s loan portfolio is mainly composed of loans to SMEs, followed by individual, trade and corporate loans. The Bank’s highest sector exposure is to construction and public works, hospitability, food industry, automobile trade and repair, and chemicals. The Bank portfolio is largely comprised of business activities that have limited adverse environmental and social risks and impacts that are few in number, site specific, largely reversible and can be readily addressed through mitigation measures. For this project, the IFC requirements would apply on BTK and its subsidiaries and the Bank will be required to screen loans against the IFC Exclusion List, host country Environmental and Social laws and regulations, and IFC Performance Standards.

BTK still has no environmental and social management system in place. However, in line with the E&S standards of the BPCE Group, BTK’s Managing Director has recently issued a decision for establishing an E&S unit that will report directly to the BTK General Secretary and will designate staff members responsible for environmental and social risks. IFC’s E&S related requirements under this project is that BTK will be required to establish an E&S management system and designate staff members responsible for E&S issues and provide them with necessary training.

BTK is in the process of updating its Human resources policies and procedures and will be required to ensure conformity with IFC''s PS2 on Labor and Working conditions. BTK has an external communication mechanism that will be enhanced to address
E&S concerns.

Contacts

For Inquiries About the Project, Contact

Banque Tuniso-Koweitienne
10 Bis, Avenue Mohamed V
1001 Tunis
Tunisia

Tel: +216 71 204 000
Fax: +216 71 253 182

Attention: Mr. Houssein Mouelhi, Chief Executive Officer

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IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

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Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

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Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Summary of Investment Information (SII) is prepared by IFC to disclose a factual summary of the main elements of the potential investment. It also includes findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding this potential investment. The purpose of the SII is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this SII is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein. It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors’ consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following SII is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP) that went into effect on January 1, 2012.

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

Task Title & Description	Anticipated Completion Date
Nominate officers	02/15/2016
Establish SEMS	03/31/2016
Formalize procedures	03/31/2016
Staff Training	05/30/2016
Revise the HR policies and procedures and the external communication mechanism	05/30/2016

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