Originally published: May 31, 2007
Source: Grameen Foundation
Kashf Foundation has signed a US$8 million Commercial Loan Facility, with a consortium of local Pakistani commercial banks. This Commercial Loan Facility is a 3-year facility in which Grameen Foundation, through its Growth Guarantee Program, provides partial risk coverage by way of a US$2 million Citibank Standby Letter of Credit in favor of the participating banks.
Beside the US$8 million Commercial Loan Facility arranged by Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), MCB Bank Ltd (MCB) and Citibank N.A. (Citi), Citibank has also been mandated by Kashf to arrange additional US$14 million of long term financing for Kashf whereas HBL and MCB are jointly executing another PKR 720M (US$11.89Mln) term financing facility for Kashf through a Privately Placed TFC issue - the first private placement for a microfinance institution in Pakistan.
"Grameen Foundation is pleased to support the first syndicated loan facility for an MFI in Pakistan. By supporting innovative financing structures such as this, the Growth Guarantees program is enabling MFIs to access greater financing amounts in a more efficient manner, which in turn allows them to accelerate their expansion to reach tens of thousands of additional poor families," said Alex Counts, Grameen Foundation’s president and CEO.
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