Overseas Private Investment Corporation Press Release January 22 2007

Press Release

Monday, January 22, 2007

OPIC BOARD APPROVES $100 MILLION FOR HOUSING FUND IN LATIN AMERICA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved $100 million in financing for a private equity investment fund that will support the growth of affordable housing in Latin America, both through home construction and the expansion of local capital markets.

The Alsis Latin America Fund will invest at least half of its capital in affordable housing projects, with an initial focus on Mexico and Central America. The fund will stimulate new housing by investing in residential mortgages in the region, and expand local capital markets by securitizing mortgage pools targeted at both domestic and international investors. The fund has a targeted capitalization of $300 million.

OPIC selected as fund manager Alsis Funds, a Delaware-based limited liability company, following a July 2006 call for proposals.

“As one of the first pools of capital focused on mortgage securitization transactions in Latin America, this investment fund will have a significant developmental impact, broadening the mortgage market and expanding the homeownership base in the region,” said OPIC President and CEO Robert Mosbacher, Jr. “By enhancing liquidity through capital market securitizations, Alsis will also help fuel the growth and quality of other asset classes in the region, such as micro-finance. OPIC is pleased to support a project with so many developmental benefits.”

OPIC was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.

OPIC’s political risk insurance and financing help U.S. businesses of all sizes invest in more than 150 emerging markets and developing nations worldwide. Over the agency’s 35-year history, OPIC has supported $164 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate more than 732,000 host-country jobs and $13 billion in host-government revenues. OPIC projects have also generated $69 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 264,000 American jobs.