At the start of this year, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, the charitable arm of banking consortium BBVA, announced expanded activities in several Latin American countries. In Panama, the foundation has signed an agreement with Banco Panameño de la Vivienda S A (Panamanian Housing Bank) for majority ownership in the Microserfín organization, a specialist in loans and services for low-income residents of rural areas. The BBVA Microfinance Foundation has also formed an alliance with Fondo Esperanza (Hope Fund) in Chile, which will provide financial services to about 150,000 families over the next 10 years, a figure that represents around a quarter of the estimated 15 per cent of the country’s population that lives below the poverty line. In addition to capital and resources to ensure sustainable growth of the new organizations, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation will offer its experience in models, procedures and efficient management systems.

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http://mfbbva.org