Continental CL III (IFC-46898)

Countries
  • Paraguay
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Uninformed
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
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
Active
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
FI
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
Aug 4, 2023
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
BANCO CONTINENTAL S.A.E.C.A.
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.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 50.00 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.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 50.00 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.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Jun 21, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Jun 30, 2023

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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 investment consists of: (i) a senior A loan of up to US$50 million, (ii) a B loan of up to US$25 million, and (iii) a Trust Loan under IFC’s Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program of up to US$37.5 million to Banco Continental S.A.E.C.A. (“Continental” or the “Bank”) to expand the Bank’s small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) lending program, of which at least 25% will be on-lent to Women-Owned SMEs (“WSMEs”) (the “Project”).

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The Project consists of (i) an IFC’s own account senior A loan of up to US$50 million, (ii) a B loan of up to US$25 million, and (iii) a Trust Loan under IFC’s Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program of up to US$37.5 million to Continental. The proceeds will be used by the Bank to finance eligible SMEs including WSMEs.

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 Actors Description
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.

According to the IFC, Continental is a Paraguayan commercial bank with more than 1,000 employees and 59 branches across Paraguay. It offers a diverse set of products for SMEs, corporates and individuals. As of February 2023, Continental was the largest bank in Paraguay in terms of net loans with a market share of 15.9%, and the second largest in terms of deposits with a 14% market share. 

Continental is controlled by Mr. Carlos Raul Espínola, a Paraguayan businessman, and his wife Miriam Cristina Harms, with a combined participation of 77% of the votes and 34% of the capital through Chivatos S.A. and Voirons S.A. The balance is held by a diverse base of shareholders, none with an ownership above 5%.


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.

IFC

 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

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If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly,  you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC’s Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC’s Executive Vice President.

 

 

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

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/

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