MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO to Invest $30m in BICE to Support Imports by SMEs in Argentina

The Dutch development bank, which is often referred to by its acronym FMO, recently agreed to extend a loan worth USD 30 million to Banco de Inversion y Comercio Exterior (BICE), a development bank based in Argentina. BICE has agreed to on-lend the funds to local importers of Dutch goods, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Based in the city of Buenos Aires, BICE is a subsidiary of Banco de la Nación Argentina, a state-owned bank. BICE provides deposit and lending services to SMEs and financial institutions in addition to funding private-sector infrastructure projects, leasing contracts and trade finance. As of December 2018, it reported total assets of ARS 62.1 billion (USD 1.65 billion), outstanding loans of ARS 43.0 billion (USD 1.14 billion) and deposits of ARS 24.5 billion (USD 652 million).

Established in 1970, FMO is 51-percent held by the Dutch government and 49-percent by private sector institutions. The bank works toward the UN’s sustainable development goals by funding capacity development as well as placing debt and equity investments in sectors such as agribusiness, financial institutions and energy. As of 2018, the bank reported a portfolio of EUR 9.6 billion (USD 10.8 billion).

By Jolene Khor, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Banco de la Nación homepage
http://www.bna.com.ar

BICE 2018 Annual Report
https://www.bice.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/BICE_MEMORIA_BALANCE_INGLES_8_05.pdf

FMO project detail on BICE
https://www.fmo.nl/project-detail/54990

FMO 2018 Annual Report
https://annualreport.fmo.nl/2018/

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