Coronavirus: CAF Pledges USD 2.5 billion to Protect People and Economies

In order to provide broad and comprehensive support to countries when they need it most, CAF—development bank of Latin America—is offering its shareholders a countercyclical emergency rapid credit facility for up to USD 2.5 billion, which will support and complement the fiscal measures implemented by governments.

“The purpose of this credit line is to expedite the approval of operations that quickly and effectively support the emergency measures that our countries are taking to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the economy and on people’s quality of life. In contingencies like this, our role as development partners in all our shareholder countries is even more relevant,” said CAF executive president Luis Carranza Ugarte.

This initiative comes in addition to the measure announced on March 3, during the meeting of the Board of Directors of the institution held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which consists of a contingent credit line of up to USD 50 million per country that has been made available to shareholders for direct action on public health care systems. Authorities also have non-refundable technical cooperation funds of up to USD 400,000 per country at their disposal for initiatives related to this global situation.

“In addition, we will continue to support the banking system of our countries, prioritizing development banks, in an effort to enable them to invest funds on the productive sector, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises; and we will continue to make efforts to mobilize funds from third-party countries and strategic partners to complement the efforts that our shareholder countries have been making,” Carranza Ugarte added.

Lastly, CAF activated a corporate protocol of action, which follows the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), and calls for prevention measures in the countries in which it operates, such as the implementation of telecommuting for 100% of its staff, as well as contingency plans in the event of a contagion. These measures ensure operation, implementation of critical processes and the fulfillment of the objectives of the institution.