Washington DC, United States, December, 13 2007 - IFC and Wachovia Capital Markets, a unit of Wachovia (NYSE: WB), have co-arranged a US$40mn syndicated financing agreement for Peru's Mibanco, IFC said in a press release.

The loan will allow Mibanco to offer longer loan maturities to its microenterprise clients and reach more customers in rural areas. The transaction is the first international syndication for a microfinance institution in Latin America, IFC said.

Originally structured as a US$30mn loan, the syndication was oversubscribed by US$18mn and attracted 10 participant banks with Wachovia Bank, Bancocolombia (NYSE: CIB), HSBC (NYSE: HBC), Natixis, Rabobank, and State Bank of India acting as lead arrangers with US$5mn shares.

Co-arrangers with US$3mn shares include Israel Discount Bank, Republic Bank and WGZ Bank, while Minlam Asset Management, a microfinance-focused fund, participated with US$1.5mn.

In June 2007, IFC became a shareholder in Mibanco with a 6.5% equity stake.

Mibanco has provided more than 2mn loans to low-income individuals and small businesses in Peru, many of who had little or no prior access to formal credit institutions.

Mibanco is the country's largest provider of microfinance loans by number of clients served and the second largest in terms of loan volume. As of September 30, the bank reported a 14.2% market share with total assets of over US$512mn and net worth of US$59mn.