• The agreement seeks specifically to boost the use of guarantee systems in benefit of SMEs and their integration into the Latin American and Caribbean development banking system.

November 8, 2018.- The Latin American Association of Development Financing Institutions (ALIDE) and the Ibero-American Guarantee Network (Regar) signed a cooperation agreement in Porto, Portugal to work together on guarantee mechanisms and financial instruments that serve the needs of the production sectors, particularly the SMEs, and their tie-in with and integration into the efforts of the Latin American and Caribbean development banking system.

The cooperation agreement was signed during the XXIII Ibero-American Forum of Guarantee and Financing Systems, the most important Ibero-American event of its kind, on October 26 in the city of Porto, Portugal by the Secretary Generals of the two institutions, Pablo Pombo for Regar and Edgardo Alvarez for ALIDE; and Beatriz Freitas, Regar Executive Board member.

Among the agreement’s most important objectives is to further the analysis of the need for the region’s reguarantee and the creation of an instrument to link up productive integration objectives in the region with development finance institutions and guarantee systems.

Specifically speaking, the agreement encourages the collaboration of the two institutions on matters of guarantees and financing through the execution of projects and activities; exchange of information and studies; joint technical assistance; training activities; and reinforcement of cooperation networks between SMEs and guarantee systems, among other things.

The agreement emerged within the context of the functions and responsibilities of the two institutions. In ALIDE’s case, its objective is to harmonize and strengthen the efforts and participation of financial institutions in the economic and social development of the Latin American region, while Regar aims to promote, facilitate and coordinate efforts concerned with access to financing and guarantees in benefit of Ibero-American businesses.

About ALIDE
ALIDE is the community of financial institutions that generates banking solutions for the development of Latin America and the Caribbean. The activities that it promotes and carries out seek the cohesion and strengthening of the action and participation of financial institutions in the economic and social development process in the region. ALIDE encourages regional integration and financial cooperation with other regions of the world to achieve the mobilization of resources and technology for the development of Latin America and the Caribbean.