CAF approved loans for US$3.3bn in 2003

CAF, the Andean Development Corporation, approved loans totaling US$3.3bn in 2003 and disbursed US$1.8bn, CFO Hugo Sarmiento said during its 2003 results conference call. Medium- or long-term projects such as roads and mass transit projects accounted for 67% of loan approvals and 86% of disbursements. Sarmiento said that in terms of asset quality the loan portfolio had its best performance in 10 years with US$11mn in non-performing loans (0.2% of the portfolio), US$210mn in loan loss provision (3.2%), US$19mn in loan write-offs and US$7mn in recoveries. CAF made a net profit of US$135.5mn in 2003 up 7% on 2002, mainly from its loan portfolio. About 72% of the loan portfolio is for infrastructure projects. Colombia is the biggest recipient with 23% of the total. During the question and answer session, Sarmiento told BNamericas that CAF expects infrastructure projects to account for a similar percentage in 2004. "Looking at the loan pipeline, by the end of the year [2004] we will have a similar breakdown for infrastructure," he said. Sarmiento said transportation projects accounted for 36% of the infrastructure segment, social infrastructure projects (mainly water and irrigation) 19%, and energy 15%. When analyzing funding requests for road infrastructure he said, "The priority for funding is whether the project is part of a regional highway network that offers the faster movement of goods, such as under the IIRSA [regional integration] program." The corporation ended the year with US$8.8bn in total assets, up 16% on 2002. It received a record US$209mn in new capital from shareholders including US$130mn from the Andean countries and US$67mn from Spain. CAF raised US$907mn from bond issues during the year including its largest ever bond issue, a US$500mn, 10-year bond. Bonds represent 68% of total funding.