Cleary Gottlieb represented Banco Pichincha C.A. (Pichincha), the largest Ecuadorian private bank, in a credit facility of $100 million with Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC).
The finance transaction also involved a $8.5 million secured loan from Wells Fargo Bank N.A. (WFB).
The finance agreement among Pichincha and OPIC was executed on November 8, 2019, and the corresponding disbursement occurred on December 4, 2019. The finance agreement among Pichincha and WFB, as well as the relating security agreement and account control agreement, were executed on November 19, 2019. Disbursement occurred on November 22, 2019.
Pichincha intends to use the OPIC loan proceeds, together with the loan from WFB and its own funds to expand its women SMEs and microenterprises (MSME) portfolio in Ecuador. In order to be eligible to receive funds from the loan, MSME need to fit into the definition of “Women MSME” by meeting certain criteria relating to the participation of women in the enterprise organization, the participation of women in the enterprise decision-making process, or the generation of benefits to women as part of the MSME’s product or service.
Cleary has been providing legal advice to Pichincha on various financial matters since 2011.