Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior SA, or BICE, plans to more than double its loan disbursements in 2018, with the vast majority of those funds headed to small and medium-sized enterprises.
In an interview with La Nación, Chairman Pablo García estimated that the government-controlled bank will lend out 15.00 billion Argentine peso by year-end 2017, well above the 13.30 billion peso targeted for the year and a 130% increase from the 6.40 billion peso disbursed in 2016.
However, the chairman believes BICE will again more than double the 2017 figure in 2018 to around 32.00 billion peso.
García said that in 2018, BICE will focus on "meeting three fundamental needs of companies," including investment, foreign trade and working capital.
As of Dec. 14, US$1 was equivalent to 17.35 Argentine peso.
