Press Release

Thursday, April 27, 2006

OPIC Board Approves $250 Million for Lending Facility Targeting Latin America and CAFTA-DR Countries

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) today approved $250 million in guarantees for a lending facility that will enable Wachovia Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina, to expand its lending in emerging markets, with a focus on Latin America and the signatory countries of Central America-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).

The facility is OPIC’s third with Wachovia: OPIC provided $100 million to the first, in 2002, and $250 million in 2004 to the second. Of the $350 million total, $251 million – 72 percent – has been utilized to date, and Wachovia expects the remaining $99 million to be used in the near future for additional transactions.

As with the previous facilities, OPIC will share credit risk with Wachovia in emerging market loans underwritten and administered by Wachovia, enabling the bank to expand the volume and extend the tenor of its financing. Primarily, Wachovia will use the facility to make loans to correspondent banks in OPIC-eligible countries, which will then provide loans to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), middle-market businesses, homeowners and consumers. Wachovia will ensure that the loans meet OPIC statutory and policy requirements for environmental, worker and human rights.

“OPIC’s first two lending facilities with Wachovia have performed very well, in the process channeling much-needed capital to borrowers in emerging markets,” said OPIC President and CEO Robert Mosbacher, Jr. “With its focus on Latin America and CAFTA countries, we expect this new facility to be equally successful.”