Banco de Crédito del Perú will make a USD 1.2 million-equivalent local-currency loan to microfinance institution (MFI) Pro Mujer Peru, according to a statement by the international non-profit Grameen Foundation, a major backer of the transaction.
The Peruvian MFI’s parent organization, Pro Mujer International, and the Grameen Foundation’s Growth Guarantees Program are evenly splitting a USD 400,000 guarantee behind the loan, which Pro Mujer Peru will use for on-lending to women in rural areas of the country. It amounts to the highest leverage yet on financing provided by a Peruvian commercial bank to an MFI.
Last month, Pro Mujer International was the recipient of a USD 650,000 investment by the Calvert Foundation and USD 150,000 by MicroCredit Enterprises, as reported by MicroCapital. In April, Pro Mujer Peru began offering microinsurance to 43,000 borrowers.
Banco de Crédito del Perú has its origins as the Banco Italiano, founded in 1889 and renamed in 1942. It is currently a publicly-traded commercial bank with 237 offices throughout the country and more than 12,000 employees. As of March 2008 (Google Finance), it had assets of PEN 46.8 billion (USD 17.3 billion) and a debt-equity ratio of 1,422.10 percent. Its return on average assets was 2.13 percent. It has a BBB- credit rating from both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.
Pro Mujer Peru was established in 1999 as the third Latin American affiliate of Pro Mujer International, a New York-based non-profit that seeks to improve the lives of women and their families in Latin America. Pro Mujer Peru began its credit operations with a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2000 and mainly serves southern Peru from its base in the city of Puno. As of year-end 2007, it had a gross loan portfolio of USD 8.5 million out of USD 9.4 million in total assets. Its debt-equity ratio was 91.61 percent and it had more than 39,000 active borrowers. As of June 2006, Pro Mujer Peru has an alpha-minus credit rating from the MicroRate agency.
By Stephen Son
Additional Resources:
Oanda: FX Converter
Grameen Foundation: “GF and Pro Mujer International Secure More Than $1.2 Million for Pro Mujer Peru”
MicroCapital.org article, May 16, 2008: “Calvert Foundation Makes Microfinance Investments Totaling $1.6m in Banco Solidario, Unitus and Pro Mujer”
MicroCapital.org article, May 26, 2008: “MicroCredit Enterprises Invests $150k in Pro Mujer”
MicroCapital.org article, April 11, 2008: “Microfinance Institution Pro Mujer Peru Offers Microinsurance to 43,000 Borrowers Via ING’s and Grupo Wiese’s InVita”
Banco de Crédito del Perú: Historia; Clasificaciones Internacionales (Spanish)
Google Finance: LIN:CREDITC1
MIX Market: Profile for Pro Mujer Peru
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