CAF obtains more resources and regional presence to spearhead economic reactivation in Latin America and the Caribbean and to become the green bank of the region

Thanks to the capitalization of USD 7 billion to CAF Development Bank of Latin America, Latin America and the Caribbean will have an ally that is strengthened to meet the immediate needs of their countries and, in turn, long-term initiatives that promote the well-being of their people, productivity and environmental protection. The capital was approved by consensus at CAF’s Special Shareholders’ Meeting.

Ministers of economy and finance, together with presidents of central banks and senior economic authorities from the 19 shareholder countries, supported CAF’s new vision to become a more accessible and agile bank at the service of all the region’s countries. The boost in funds, which will double the purse by 2030, will focus on four key areas: To make CAF the green bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, to support authorities within each state, to promote regional integration, and to strengthen the role of the private sector.

“We appreciate the shareholders’ vote of confidence in this ambitious commitment the organization has taken on for the future: to become the spearhead of social and economic reactivation in the immediate future and the green bank of Latin America and the Caribbean by the end of the decade. This capitalization will allow us to improve the quality of life of millions of people, promote sustainable development and protect the only planet we have,” said Sergio Díaz-Granados, the institution’s executive president.

For his part, the Minister of Finance of Paraguay, Óscar Llamosas, in his first statements as the new president of the international organization´s Board of Directors, celebrated the increase in assets and expressed that the challenges that the covid-19 post pandemic recovery brings are a reality that the region’s countries must face. In this regard, he mentioned that CAF's Agenda accompanies these challenges through its position as a bank in the framework of economic reactivation and as the Green Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Argentina´s Secretary for Strategic Affairs and member of the Board of Directors, Gustavo Beliz, stated: “With these actions, the countries of Latin America are unanimously making the decision to strengthen the Development Bank to address the most urgent challenges of social inclusion, climate change , smart cities and infrastructure for integration”, he also highlighted that with this capitalization CAF commits that 40% of its portfolio will be aligned to finance operations to support sustainable development.

New Full Members

After 61 years, El Salvador joins a new multilateral bank and strengthens its ties with these organizations. The incorporation of El Salvador and the Dominican Republic as full members of CAF reflect the institution’s commitment to have a greater presence in Central America and the Caribbean, and demonstrates these countries’ confidence in CAF’s financial strength.

“The incorporation of El Salvador is a sign that we are heading towards a fairly broad transformation process. Likewise, we offer our good offices to help the development bank of Latin America in whatever way we can to make it a more just and developed region,” said Alejandro Zelaya, El Salvador´s Minister of Finance.

The Deputy Minister of Public Credit of the Dominican Republic, María José Martínez Dauhajre, highlighted in her speech: “We are confident that the Dominican Republic´s incorporation to CAF as a full member will expand technical assistance and improve financing conditions to advance in priority projects that will help meet 2030 agenda for the sustainable development goals”.

Benefits that El Salvador and the Dominican Republic will receive as full members include access to new financing sources, technical assistance resources and specialized knowledge that will improve the well-being of the countries’ populations and their competitiveness and international relationships.

USD 1.08 Billion in Approvals

CAF’s Board of Directors, meeting for the first time in Asunción, Paraguay, appointed Finance Minister Óscar Llamosas as the new president of the collective body. Mr. Llamosas will serve in this position for a period of one year. The meeting also approved five operations that will benefit more than 500,000 people in Colombia, Panama and Paraguay.

• CAF will lend USD 600 million to Colombia to boost its creative economy and promote climate action.
• CAF will bolster Panama with a credit of USD 320 million to increase the country’s resilience to climate change.
• CAF approved a loan of USD 160 million to Paraguay for water and sanitation works in the Mariano Roque Alonso Basin.

CAF also approved sovereign-guaranteed external financing to Colombia for up to USD 1.2 billion, which seeks to strengthen the development of the Caribbean, the Pacific and the country’s Los Santanderes region. In addition, three credit agreements worth USD 175 million were signed in favor of Ecuador, which will help improve rural roads, access to irrigation and drainage services in the country’s provinces, and implement national plans for education, drinking water and sanitation.