Mercantile Bank Limited (IFC-40330)

Countries
  • South Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Dec 11, 2017
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
MERCANTILE BANK LIMITED
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Ring Fence
  • Small & Medium Enterprises
A financial intermediary is a commercial bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank, sometimes for a specific lending purpose. A "ring fence" is another name for this specific purpose. These funds are then used for lending by the financial intermediary to client companies or individuals.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 60.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Nov 29, 2017

Disclosed by Bank Nov 10, 2017

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.
The proposed project involves IFC financing of up to US$ 60 million Rand equivalent to Mercantile Bank Limited (“MBL” or the “Bank”), an SME-focused commercial bank in South Africa. The funding will primarily be used for expanding the Bank’s lending operations to small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”), including women owned SMEs (“WOEs”) and Black Economic Empowerment owned SMEs (“BEEOEs”).
Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actor Relationship
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

There is often limited information publicly available about what development banks are funding through financial intermediaries. In 2021, the Early Warning System partnered with Oxfam International to incorporate information on high-risk projects being funded by financial intermediaries receiving funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Dutch Development Bank (FMO).

The information listed below describes the relationship between the different private actors linked to high-risk sectors and subprojects of IFC and FMO's financial intermediary investments and/or the financial intermediary's parent companies made from 2017 through 2020, including any associated ring fences.

The database, however, does not explicitly or implicitly imply that IFC or FMO have material exposure to or are contractually or legally accountable to the sub-projects financed by their financial intermediaries or the financial intermediary's parent companies. It only shows a seemingly financial relationship among the different private actors, the financial intermediaries, and IFC or FMO.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
Ascendi Group Parent Company Transport owns Douro Interior Motorway (272KM) PPP Refinancing Client Transport
Atlas Holdings LLC Parent Company Mining owns Alcoa Transformacion de Produc Client Mining
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Acciona SA Parent Company Transport
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Aernnova Aerospace Corp SA Client Transport
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Alcoa Transformacion de Produc Client Mining
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Alto Tajo Solar Parent Company Energy
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in ARTECHE LANTEGI ELKARTEA SA Parent Company Energy
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Ascendi Group Parent Company Transport
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Atlas Holdings LLC Parent Company Mining
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in AZVI SA Parent Company Construction
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Bondalti Chemicals Sa Parent Company Industry and Trade
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in CascaiShopping Client Industry and Trade
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd Parent Company Energy
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Douro Interior Motorway (272KM) PPP Refinancing Client Transport
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Douro Interior Road Parent Company Transport
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in EDP Energias de Portugal SA Parent Company Energy
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in EDP Finance BV Parent Company Energy
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Engie SA Parent Company Energy
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Ercros SA Parent Company Industry and Trade
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Estudio Ceramico Parent Company Construction
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in FCC Client Construction
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in First Capital Partner GmbH Parent Company Industry and Trade
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Galp Energia SGPS SA Parent Company Mining
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Grupo Celsa Parent Company Mining
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Grupo Empresarial Conesa Sl Parent Company Agriculture and Forestry
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Grupo Logistico Sese SL Parent Company Transport
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Iberwind II Producao - Socie Client Energy
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Inmobiliaria Carso SA de CV Parent Company Construction
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Inver Angelini Parent Company Construction
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Las Vegas Sands Corp Parent Company Industry and Trade
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in MCO Nominee One Ltd Client Finance
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Melco Intl Dvlp Ltd Parent Company Finance
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Monet Client Energy
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in MonteAdriano Parent Company Transport
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in MSC Kreuzfahrten AG Parent Company Transport
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Msc Mediterranean Shipping Co Client Transport
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Nard Agro Parent Company Agriculture and Forestry
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in NorteShopping(IMO-R) Client Industry and Trade
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Redexis Gas Parent Company Mining
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Sands China Ltd Client Industry and Trade
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Sonae Arauco SA Client Construction
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in Synergy Industry & Parent Company Transport
Caixa Geral de Depósitos Investor Finance invests in TIAA Parent Company Industry and Trade
CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd Parent Company Energy owns Iberwind II Producao - Socie Client Energy
Engie SA Parent Company Energy owns Monet Client Energy
First Capital Partner GmbH Parent Company Industry and Trade owns CascaiShopping Client Industry and Trade
Inmobiliaria Carso SA de CV Parent Company Construction owns FCC Client Construction
Inver Angelini Parent Company Construction owns Sonae Arauco SA Client Construction
Las Vegas Sands Corp Parent Company Industry and Trade owns Sands China Ltd Client Industry and Trade
Melco Intl Dvlp Ltd Parent Company Finance owns MCO Nominee One Ltd Client Finance
MSC Kreuzfahrten AG Parent Company Transport owns Msc Mediterranean Shipping Co Client Transport
Synergy Industry & Parent Company Transport owns Aernnova Aerospace Corp SA Client Transport
TIAA Parent Company Industry and Trade owns NorteShopping(IMO-R) Client Industry and Trade

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.
ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/

How it works

How it works