World Bank grants US$3mn to help local banks in partial guarantee program

The World Bank said it has granted US$3mn to Haiti to support a partial credit guarantee program to help local banks and cooperatives restructure loans of borrowers that were affected by the devastating magnitude-7.0 earthquake that shook the country on January 12. The grant will also help restart lending in anticipation of stronger demand for credit in the context of the country's reconstruction, the multilateral said in a press release, adding that the grant will help local financial institutions reduce risk on small loans to individual borrowers, as well as for SME and mortgage loans. Back in October, regional development bank IDB granted US$20mn for similar activities, aiming to facilitate loan restructuring for Haiti's financial institutions. With the new grant, the World Bank has provided US$479mn to Haiti in reconstruction support. Of the total, US$320mn have been provided for various government-led projects, US$39mn for canceling Haiti's debt and US$49mn from the World Bank's private sector arm IFC to support development of the private sector.