48851 - Bolivariano BOW

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Summary of Investment Information

Project Number

48851

Company Name

Banco Bolivariano C.A.

Date SPI Disclosed

Dec 22, 2023

Country

Ecuador

Region

Latin America and the Caribbean

Projected Board Date

Jan 22, 2024

Environmental Category

FI-2 - Limited

Status

Active

Last Updated Date

May 2, 2024

Department

Regional Industry FIG LAC & EUR

Industry

Financial Markets

Previous Events

Approved : Mar 26, 2024
Signed : Apr 12, 2024
Invested : Apr 30, 2024

Sector

Commercial Banking - General

Additional Project Attributes

Blended Finance

Project Description

The proposed investment consists of a 5-year senior unsecured loan of up to US$50 million, to Banco Bolivariano C.A. (Bolivariano or the Bank) to support the growth of the Bank’s women-owned SME portfolio. The Project is aligned with the objectives of the Banking on Women (BOW) program.

Associated Advisory Engagement

Through IFC’s advisory services, IFC will help the Bank strengthen its lending capacity and further enhance its value proposition to SMEs, including WSMEs. The advisory engagement with Bolivariano includes developing and launching a gender intelligence program and executing a diagnostic on current SME and gender business capabilities of the Bank. As a result of the advisory services, IFC expects to contribute to help the Bank develop new products and further reach WSME segments.

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	50.0
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 Woman-Owned SMEs

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

Development Impact

IFC’s additionality through the Project will be both financial and non-financial. Financial additionality will be provided in the forms of financing structure, as IFC will provide funding at tenors not commercially available in Ecuador. Non-financial additionality will be provided in the form of advisory services, as IFC will help the Bank strengthen its lending activities and further enhance its value proposition to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including women-owned SMEs (WSMEs).

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

The Project consists of an US$ 50 million loan to Banco Bolivariano in Ecuador to support its women-owned small and medium enterprises (WSME) portfolio. The potential E&S risks and impacts associated with the Project are likely to be medium, therefore this transaction has been categorized as FI-2 according to IFC's Sustainability Framework. Potential environmental and social (E&S) risks associated with the Project include occupational health and safety risks, air and water effluent emissions, labor conditions, deforestation, and community impacts. The Project will not support coal related activities, non-certified palm oil plantations, and higher risk business activities that may include: (i) involuntary resettlement, (ii) risk of adverse impacts on indigenous peoples, (iii) significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage or (iv) significant occupational health and safety risks.

The main E&S risks and impacts related to the Project derive from the Bank's capacity to assess and manage E&S risks of the WSME portfolio in line with the E&S requirements. Banco Bolivariano is an existing IFC client with an environmental and social management system (ESMS) in place, including screening procedures to assess SME sub-projects against its exclusion list and applicable E&S laws and regulations. For sub-project involving higher E&S risks, the E&S due diligences process includes additional desk-based reviews and visits to identify E&S issues. The Bank’s labor practices are overall aligned with Performance Standard 2: Labor and Working Conditions. As part of the project, the Bank will be required to further enhance its ESMS by including an additional verification step to screen relevant SME clients against applicable national E&S laws and regulations, as well as will be required to enhance its labor practices and remind committed to applying them in line with Performance Standard 2.

Title	Anticipated Completion Date
Enhance ESMS	04/30/2024

Contacts

For Inquiries About the Project, Contact

Banco Bolivariano C.A.
Francisco Arrata Puente
International Relationships Finance Manager
(593) 4 256 6556 / Ext. 2393
farrata@bolivariano.com
Junin 200 y Panama, Guayaquil, Ecuador
https://www.bolivariano.com/

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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.

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