IIC to lend up to US$15mn to BDP for SME financing

The Inter-American Investment Corporation ( IIC) has proposed an up to US$15mn loan to Dominican Republic bank Banco Popular Dominicano ( BPD), the multilateral institution said in a project summary. The financing would be used to support SME lending in the Dominican Republic through financial leasing and factoring, working capital loans and loans for purchasing fixed assets, the summary said. BPD's total loan portfolio reached 127bn pesos (US$3.30bn) at the end of 2011, growing 15.9%. Full year net income for 2011 was 3.90bn pesos, up some 5.5%, the company said in a release. BPD is a subsidiary of local financial group Grupo Popular, offering a range of banking and insurance services. With 145 branches, BPD has the largest branch network in the country.