The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Credit Libanais, one of the leading banks in Lebanon in terms of assets and customer deposits, received Wednesday a $50 million soft loan from the International Finance Corporation to boost lending to small and medium size enterprises, a statement by the bank said. “International Finance Corporation a sister organization of the World Bank, signed a senior loan for $50 million with Credit Libanais with a hedged fixed interest rate, to boost the lending to small and medium enterprises in Lebanon.” The statement added.
Joseph Torbey, Group Credit Libanais Chairman-General Manager, declared: “IFC’s investment will further sustain our support to SMEs as part of our strategy and will contribute to a wider financing of the SME projects, which will ultimately lead to stronger economic growth.”
This investment is the third financing provided by IFC to Credit Libanais reflecting a long-standing partnership dating back to 2007.
Mouayed Makhlouf, IFC’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “We aim to strengthen Lebanon’s financial sector by fostering investments that promote sustainable economic growth, particularly in priority segments like SMEs. The investment also highlights our commitment to supporting Lebanon and its banks by providing long term financing that are not available in the market especially in a challenging economic climate.”