September 17, 2008. The World Bank’s Latin American and Caribbean (LCR) region spearheaded the development of new financial and lending products during the 2008 fiscal year to better respond to the changing needs of partner countries in the region, many of which are at the forefront of the new agenda for Middle-Income Countries (MICs). The Bank also significantly increased support to the poorer countries in the region through credits and interest free loans from the International Development Association (IDA). The World Bank financing for LCR in FY08 totaled approximately $4.6 billion for 58 projects. This includes about $4.3 billion in loans from IBRD and $300 million in grants and credits from IDA. Next year lending is expected to reach $5 billion. | 2008 | Number of Operations | Portfolio
US$m | | IBRD | 39 | 4,353 | | IDA | 19 | 307 | | TOTAL | 58 | 4,660 | | | The largest borrowers during this fiscal year were Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, with 18 newly approved projects in areas such as climate change, education, transportation and health. Transportation, public administration, law and education received the largest percentage of funds in the region. Lending for agriculture rose 300 percent from last year and energy was up 1,200 percent. Click here to see the lending commitment by principal sectors in the last fiscal year. Climate change, food prices remain important issues for the region During a briefing to the press in July, World Bank Vice President for LCR Pamela Cox said that moving forward, the Bank’s strategy for the region would be consistent with the past two years, focusing on the issues of economic growth ,social development and equity including education, infrastructure, energy  and health; the effective delivery of services by the region’s governments; and global issues, given Latin America’s growing role in the world economy.
She emphasized the relevance of climate change, where the region is an “important voice” and “stands to be part of the solution;” energy and food, issues that have “come to the fore” in the region and globally; trade quality, meaning trade “with benefits for everyone,” and the creation of more opportunities. Cox said that while some food and energy exporting countries have benefitted from the rapid rise in commodity prices, within countries, nearly every country, poor people are affected. “The poor people tend to feel the impact of high prices faster simply because they are spending more income on food,” Cox said. Since May, the Bank has approved two financing packages for US$10 million to support Haiti and Honduras in addressing the food crisis. |
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