| Project description |
This project entails a loan of up to $2.5 million to National Bank of Vanuatu (“NBV” or the “Bank”).
NBV is the third largest commercial bank in Vanuatu and was established by an act of Parliament in 1989 and commenced operations in August 1991.
The proposed project will meet IFC’s focus on IDA countries and in particular the expansion of IFC’s presence in the Pacific Islands. It will become IFC’s first financial markets investment in Vanuatu, with the aim to help induce local economic development, increase access to finance for underserved small enterprises, and promote greater competition in the banking sector. |
|
| Project sponsor and major shareholders of project company |
| NBV is 100% government owned, through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management of Vanuatu. |
| Total project cost and amount and nature of IFC's investment |
| This project entails a senior loan of up to $2.5 million to NBV. |
| Location of project and description of site |
| NBV is headquartered in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The Bank has the largest branch network in Vanuatu with 22 branches. NBV is the leading provider of rural and micro-financial services in Vanuatu. |
|
| Anticipated development impact of the project |
Development Impact:
Promoting Economic Development: The project is expected to have a significant impact on the country’s economic development as it will directly be providing financing to rural areas in an IDA country. This will in turn stimulate growth, employment generation and poverty reduction.
Increasing Access to Finance: NBV expects to open new branches and expand its microfinance program in 2009, which should drive commercial lending and improve access to finance for Vanuatu’s rural population. IFC’s loan to NBV will help the underserved client segment increase access to financial services.
Promoting Competition: Given that the banking market is essentially dominated by 4 commercial banks, further growth of NBV would serve to promote competition within the sector. |
 |
|
| IFC's expected development contribution |
| Vanuatu is experiencing capital outflow given the on-going turmoil in the global financial markets, which results in reduced liquidity in the country. IFC’s investment will provide much needed financing for NBV. |
| Environmental and social issues - Category FI |
This project has been classified as a Category FI project. Applicable Performance Requirements include:
- The IFC FI Exclusion List
- The applicable National Social and Environmental Laws and regulations
NBV is required to comply with IFC’s Performance Standards 2: Labor and Working Conditions in its own human resource practices. The client will need to establish and maintain a Social & Environmental Management System (SEMS) and appoint an Environmental and Social Officer responsible for execution of its SEMS. NBV will be required to submit annual environmental performance reports to IFC.
|
|
| For inquiries about the project, contact: |
Mr. Bob Hughes, Managing Director
Telephone: +678 22201
Telephone: +678 27227
Mailing address: National Bank of Vanuatu,
PO Box 249, Port Vila, Vanuatu |
|
| For inquiries and comments about IFC, contact: |
General IFC Inquiries
IFC Corporate Relations
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20433
Telephone: 202-473-3800
Fax: 202-974-4384
E Mail: Webmaster |
| Local access of project documentation |
|
|
|
|