Shareholders Meeting approves 1990 balance sheet

The meeting was chaired by Colombian ambassador in Venezuela Noemi Sanín de Rubio, on behalf of the Minister of Economic Development of that country Ernesto Samper.

The meeting was attended by the following representatives duly authorized by their respective governments: Ecuadorian ambassador Francisco Huerta; Bolivian Minister-Counselor Carla Pardo Valle; Peruvian commercial attaché José Luis Pérez; and the legal counsel of the Venezuelan Investment Fund, Garciela Avendaño.

CAF President & CEO Galo Montaño presented for the consideration of the Meeting the annual report of the Board - which covers the Corporation’s activities in 1990 - which was unanimously approved.

The balance sheet and financial statements, audited by the firm Espiñeira, Sheldon y Asociados, for the last fiscal year, were also unanimously approved.

Image of strength CAF is the financial arm of the Andean Group formed by Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The strategic guidelines which the institution has set are closely related to the favorable image that it presents to external sources of credit. In this respect, the Corporation has not only received support at the highest political level of its member countries, but has also become a valid and reliable intermediary between external banks and the financial markets of the Andean countries. This view is endorsed by 24 export banks from the industrialized nations, three multilateral organizations and 50 commercial banks from different countries.

An important event was the recognition given to CAF by Colombian President César Gaviria during his recent visit to the institution on March 14.

In 1990, the Corporation achieved its highest figure for funding generation with a total amount of US$803 million; of this, US$687 million was generated in the subregion and US$116 million outside it.

An important event in the Corporation’s history was the first placement of bonds on the international financial market in Japan in May last year.

During 1990, capital contributions of US$150 million were received, especially the Mexican participation as first extra-subregional shareholder with subscription to US$20 million of series "C" shares. Last year also marked the start of the participation of subregional commercial banks and financial institutions in the CAF capital.

Outperforming targets The financial statements for 1990 show that the institution obtained a net income of US$35.1 million during the year, the highest in its history and 19% higher than in 1989.

In general, the results obtained in 1990 show that CAF outperformed the targets set for the period, maintaining the sustained growth of recent years.

Disbursements authorized for loans for project execution, foreign trade financing operations (SAFICO and MECOFIN), and non-reimbursable technical cooperation operations totaled US$668 million, a 73% increase from the year before.

Private sector Operations approved for project execution loans totaled US$261 million, of which 45% went to the private sector, while the amount for trade finance (US$548) was channeled entirely to companies in that sector, which is a turnaround in CAF policy which traditionally targeted its loans to the public sector.

A high percentage of non-reimbursable cooperation funds was made available to the private sector for preparation of studies, hiring of experts and facilitation of contacts, among other things, for developing specific projects.

To this end, in the distribution of the net income for the 1990 period, the Meeting allocated additional resources to the funds for Biotechnology, Small Business, Productivity, Technical Cooperation and Special Funds for Bolivia and Ecuador, while creating a new temporary fund for US$330,650 to support the development of Peru. The surplus funds will increase the operating reserves of the Corporation.