Funds are to be used for loans to small and medium-sized companies.
BTG Pactual (BPAC11) announces a new agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japanese government agency that is responsible for fostering private investment focused on economic and social development in developing countries. The US$ 200 million agreement will favor small and medium-sized companies in Brazil. The funds will be allocated to Brazilian SMEs, who play an important part at this time of economic activity recovery and income generation.
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The credit line, in addition to other already operational initiatives, will boost BTG+ business, BTG Pactual (BPAC11)’s platform for small and medium-sized companies, which currently has a portfolio of more than R$ 14 billion in financing. The partnership with JICA, as well as the recent transaction concluded with the DFC (US International Development Finance Corporation) in 2021, meets the 2x Challenge criteria, targeting female-led SMEs (both in ownership and management representation), female representation in the workforce, products that benefit women, as well as enterprises in less developed economic regions in Brazil’s North and Northeast. With this credit line, BTG Pactual already has US$ 500 million raised and earmarked for these initiatives, strengthening its ability to offer financing to small and medium-size companies in Brazil.
This transaction further strengthens BTG Pactual’s commitment and strategic focus to social and environmental development in its activities, and joins the different initiatives already in place since early 2020 in market funding, totaling approximately US$ 1.2 billion. At the end of 2020, the Bank issued its first green note of US$ 50 million and secured a US$ 140 million green financing line with DEG and Proparco, two of the main European multilateral organizations. In January 2021, it became the first Brazilian financial institution to issue a Green Bond in the international market. It was for US$ 500 million and included in both the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) Green Bond Transparency Platform as well as the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network. Since then, BTG Pactual has secured over US$ 500 million in social financing with JICA and DFC and has expanded its funding possibilities for sustainable deposits. BTG Pactual has already been recognized as a Highlight in Sustainable Finance in Emerging Markets in the 2021 Sustainable Finance Awards, and all these fundraising initiatives are connected to strategic actions in credit for the local market, primarily for attracting and fostering local entrepreneurs with ESG, producing positive impacts for the country. Regarding the ESG agenda, the bank confirmed its participation in the B3 Sustainability Index for the second consecutive year, in addition to being recognized as the best ESG team in Latin America by Buy Side analysts, according to Institutional Investors.
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BTG Pactual CEO Roberto Sallouti: “We are extremely pleased with the agreement with JICA, as we are partnering with yet another top-quality global partner. Furthermore, given the purpose of this funding, we remain at the forefront in terms of ESG efforts in the local market, consolidating our position as the leading financial institution in this market. With more than US$ 1 billion in financial resources to support Brazilian entrepreneurs, being US$ 500 million for SMEs with a focus on the 2x Challenge,, we can leverage local entrepreneurs with their environmental and social goals, helping them in their activities and, consequently, generating enormous positive potential in their communities”.
Shohei Hara, Director General of JICA Private Sector’s Partnerships and Finance Department: “Banco BTG Pactual S.A. is one of Brazil’s pioneering banks in the rapid, full introduction of its digital platform, offering its financial services across the entire Brazilian territory. JICA believes that the bank is an important partner to develop and improve financial access to SMEs in Brazil, a country that has extensive territorial dimensions. We hope that financing through Banco BTG Pactual SA’s digital platform will significantly contribute to greater financial access in the country’s North and Northeast States, helping the region’s economic development”.
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