The Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), an affiliate of the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), has granted the Banco Nacional de Crédito (Bancrédito) a US$20 million line of credit to support medium-sized firms in the DR’s tourism sector and in the free zones (zonas francas). The IIC will finance US$7.5 million of the amount directly, while the other US$12.5 million will be provided by international commercial banks. The line of credit is intended to allow Bancrédito to make long-term, low-interest loans to mid-sized firms, focusing mostly on modernizing and expanding existing firms. The IIC and Bancrédito say that the program should create 2,000 new jobs and more than US$15 million in export income in coming years. The IIC is the arm of the IDB that promotes investment and private enterprise in 28 countries of Latin American and the Caribbean.
