Bladex Announces US$400 Million Bond Issuance

PANAMA CITY, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (Bladex) (NYSE: BLX), announced the issuance of a US$400 million bond, the Bank's first 144A/Reg S transaction in several years.  The bonds, which mature in 2017, pay a fixed rate coupon of 3.75%.  The issue was substantially oversubscribed and placed with global institutional and retail investors.

Mr. Gregory Testerman, Bladex's Executive Vice President of Treasury & Capital Markets, commented, "Bladex's successful bond issuance demonstrates the attractiveness of top-tier Latin American issuers to global investors. Taken together with the Bank's recent issuance of peso-denominated bonds in the local Mexican market, Bladex continues to reinforce its medium-term liquidity, placing the Bank in a privileged position to respond to the growing financing needs of clients".

Mr. Jaime Rivera, Bladex's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Bladex's recent capital market activities signal the Bank's confidence in the continued growth of Latin America's trade flows, while at the same time strengthening and diversifying the mix and duration of the Bank's liabilities. Bladex is particularly satisfied with the broad base of global investors that participated in the issuance, which reflects investor confidence in Bladex's brand and business model".

The bonds were rated "BBB" by both Standard & Poor's and Fitch.

The bookrunners for this issuance were Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse.

Bladex is a supranational bank originally established by the central banks of the Latin American and the Caribbean countries ("the Region"), to promote trade financing in the Region.  Established in Panama, its shareholders include central banks and commercial banks from 23 countries in the Region, as well as Latin-American and international banks, and private investors through the New York Stock Exchange.

For further information, please access Bladex's website on the Internet at www.bladex.com or contact:

Bladex, Head Office, Calle 50 y Aquilino de la Guardia, Panama, Republic of Panama
Attention:  Mr. Christopher Schech, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Tel.: (507) 210-8630, E-mail:  [email protected]
-or-
i-advize Corporate Communications, Inc., 20 Broad Street, 25th Floor,
New York, NY  10005
Attention:  Ms. Melanie Carpenter or Mr. Peter Majeski
Tel.: (212) 406-3694, E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A.