11 de marzo 2024
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The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) reiterated its objective to diversify its loan portfolio in Central America "and thus open more financing space to all countries" in the region, through a "Clarifying Communiqué", published on Saturday, March 9, 2024.
"Concerning the news that has circulated in recent days, we at CABEI want to clarify very emphatically that our objective as a development bank is to serve all member countries in implementing projects that positively transform the lives of Central Americans," the statement read.
CABEI President, Gisela Sánchez, stated in an interview with Redacción Regional that "it is a fact that we currently have a higher level of portfolio concentration, with El Salvador and Nicaragua being the countries that receive the most funds. My objective is that we have a more diversified portfolio".
The following day, the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo protested through a letter signed by the Minister of Finance, Ivan Acosta, rejecting the decision to limit Nicaragua's access to new funds, ignoring that the country has already exceeded the reasonable amounts that can be lent to a single member by the Bank.
CABEI indicated in its "Clarifying Communiqué" that "in no way do we want to stop supporting any country. On the contrary, our objective is to provide more support for the implementation of integral solutions that reduce poverty, promote equity, contribute to environmental protection, promote infrastructure development, increase competitiveness and improve people's quality of life.
CABEI affirms that it can "better serve all countries".
The communiqué adds that "what we wanted to express is that CABEI can better serve all countries if it takes advantage of the opportunity to increase its participation in those countries with more room for growth in our portfolio".
Nicaraguan economist Juan Sebastián Chamorro, interpreted, through a publication on his X account (formerly Twitter) that, "with this communiqué, CABEI puts in other words what was already said: they are going to prioritize greater placements in countries where the portfolio can grow and expand, which is not the case of Nicaragua," which received more than $2 billion in loans between 2018 and 2023, approved by CABEI's previous executive president, Dante Mossi.
CABEI justifies in its communiqué that the objective of diversifying its loan portfolio in Central America "is positive, because it would support addressing the main challenges for the development and integration of Central Americans."
At the same time," it continued, "this is desirable because it will allow us to diversify the portfolio and thus open up more financing space for all countries. Integrally, this helps us to strengthen our financial profile and thus fulfill our mission of supporting the sustainable development of Central America".
The short press release concludes that "we want to be very emphatic that our main objective is to be the most relevant development bank in Central America and to promote prosperity in the region.
This article was published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by our staff. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.
