In Paraguay, PROPARCO reaffirms its commitment to Banco Continental
published on 23 March 2021
To support Banco Continental in the current crisis, PROPARCO has renewed its partnership by allocating it a new USD 30m credit line to support the development of its green credit portfolio, with climate co-benefits, as well as financing for Paraguayan SMEs.
Banco Continental was set up in 1980 and is the leading bank in Paraguay in terms of assets. It has specialized in the corporate banking segment. A universal bank, it provides its clients with the full range of products available in Paraguay. This operation is PROPARCO’s second credit line to Banco Continental, as it participated in a syndicated loan alongside CAF and DEG in 2017.
Helping Banco Continental develop its green credit and energy efficiency portfolio
Banco Continental is a member of “Mesa de Finanzas Sostenibles”, an institution with a mission to make the Paraguayan financial sector more responsible in terms of environmental and social issues and promote the development of a sustainable economy. Banco Continental is committed to financing “green” projects, especially projects with climate co-benefits.
This second operation with Banco Continental aims to help the bank develop its green credit and energy efficiency portfolio.
Supporting the growth of the loan portfolio for small and medium-sized enterprises
In recent years, Paraguay has shown encouraging levels of growth. Paraguay’s economy is still very much based on the primary sector, with agriculture and livestock raising being the main sectors of the economy. As in many countries, it remains difficult for many SMEs to access bank financing. Indeed, only 30% of SMEs (against 45% for the region) have access to bank financing.
PROPARCO’s loan will provide the bank with long-term resources, which will allow it to prepare the end of the health crisis under the best possible conditions by supporting the economic recovery in the country.
70 SMEs are expected to be supported through PROPARCO’s loan. Most of them operate in the agriculture, trade and industry sectors. This operation should also help create or maintain some 5,970 direct or indirect jobs.
Through these various expected impacts on development, the project will contribute to SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth) and SDG 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change).
