Earlier in July, IFC had extended $30 million to City Bank for the same end. The investment came under the Working Capital Solutions (WCS) programme of the COVID-19 response envelope, which provides $2 billion globally to emerging-market banks, enabling them to support struggling firms. The International Development Association’s Private Sector Window (IDA PSW) Blended Finance Facility is also supporting IFC’s WCS programme with the first-loss guarantee of up to $215 million in eligible countries, including Bangladesh. The funds would enable Bank Asia, an IFC client since 2014, to extend critical working capital and trade finance in the form of foreign currency liquidity to affected businesses. Arfan Ali, president and managing director of Bank Asia.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 29, 2020 16:41 UTC