Sofisa was established by the Burmaian family, which still owns 72.3% of the capital of the Bank and controls 100% of the voting shares. The remaining 27.7% of the bank’s capital is publicly traded at the Bovespa stock exchange.

The project involves the subscription by IFC, through private placement, of a cross-border, local currency-denominated note for an amount up to US$30 million-equivalent. The project also includes a B loan, for an amount of up to US$120 million.

30.0 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	30.0
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

Sofisa is headquartered in the city of São Paulo and operates through a network of 14 branches distributed throughout the country. Its operations are largely located in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Ceará. The bank intends to expand its footprint by opening units in the less developed regions of Brazil (North and Northeast) in the near future.

Sofisa has expertise in credit operations secured by collateral, particularly involving SME borrowers, and has posted an impressive growth rate in recent years. In this context, the project will help Sofisa:

- expand its operations into SME segment, which is still poorly served by banks, and
- through the B loan, expose the bank to a new set of international investors, expanding its funding network.

The two major development impacts embedded in this project are:

- making additional credit resources available to the both underserved SME segment, and
- helping maintain a competitive environment in the concentrated Brazilian banking sector.

Long-term local currency funding, which will help the bank diversify its funding base and expand its operations in an underserved segment of the market.

This project has been classified as a Category FI project according to IFC’s Environmental and Social Review Procedure. During appraisal, IFC will analyze the FI portfolio and the activities proposed to be supported with IFC financing for types of transactions, size, tenor and industry sectors and determine the Applicable Requirements, if any, that would include a combination of:

- The IFC FI Exclusion List(s); and/or
- The applicable National Environmental and Social Laws and regulations; and/or
- The IFC Performance Standards.

IFC will also review, if required, the capacity of the FI to manage environmental and social risks and to establish and maintain a social and environmental management system (SEMS). If required, IFC will suggest Supplemental Actions to address any gaps in the SEMS. Based on the review, the project will be required to:

- Develop an, or upgrade, if necessary, any existing SEMS, prior to disbursement to the satisfaction of IFC;
- Identify responsible, qualified persons to manage and implement the SEMS;
- Commit to implement the SEMS, to ensure that its investments/activities supported by IFC financing are in compliance with the Applicable Requirements;
- Commit to take action to remedy any gaps in SEMS implementation on an ongoing basis;
- Submit a periodic report to IFC as per a format to be provided by IFC.