Tribanco is wholly owned by Grupo Martins, the largest private Brazilian wholesaler specializing in foods, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, white goods and electronics. GMartins was created in 1953 in Uberlândia (state of Minas Gerais), a privileged location for distribution in Brazil as it is a central crossroads and transport intersection between the South and Southern states with the Center, North and West (Amazon), the Nordeste, as well as the Atlantic coast. GMartins has a fleet of 1,100 trucks, distributes over 19,000 products and counts on a sales force of 4,900. Its excellent logistics capability includes 4 hub distribution centers with storage capacity of 123,000 tons and 40 advanced distribution centers. Its 2003 revenues reached R$2.0bn ($0.72bn).

The total project cost is estimated at $10 million. The proposed IFC Investment is a $10 million A loan for IFC’s own account.

10.0 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	10.0
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

Tribanco is Headquartered in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais. Investments under the project can be made throughout the country.

The project is expected to have a high development impact. It is expected to be significant in terms of its support for micro and small businesses and employment generation in areas and among populations that are underserved by the formal banking system. Tribanco follows GMartins to the most remote and neglected urban and rural areas of Brazil, where many people (small shops and end consumers) have virtually no access to financial services. For instance, the credit cards provided by Tribanco are often people’s first credit card. The important and successful work of Tribanco is starting to be recognized. A recent microfinance seminar organized by IFC, the Central Bank of Brazil and the Federation of Brazilian Banks in October of 2003 identified Tribanco as a pioneer and a success story in Brazilian microfinance. IFC financing will support Tribanco’s role as a pioneer bank that is widening access to credit in remote and under-privileged sectors of the economy. The financing will allow Tribanco to continue expanding its lending programs and provide loans with longer tenors to its clients. It will also provide a level of credibility that Tribanco can leverage with other potential creditors / investors, overcoming a lingering skepticism about small and micro business finance in the traditional banking sector.

This is a category FI Type 1 project according to IFC’s environmental and social review procedure. Tribanco will establish an environmental management system that will ensure that activities financed under relevant operations are consistent with applicable environmental, occupational health and safety regulations of Brazil; designate appropriate individuals who will have responsibility for the environment and who will attend IFC’s environmental management workshops or an approved equivalent; submit to IFC an environmental management plan; and submit to IFC an annual environmental performance report.
Location of environmental documents in locally affected community