Banco Lafise Bancentro

Lafise is a Nicaraguan private commercial bank, established in 1991. Its primary activity is to provide banking and financial intermediation services, as well as promote the development of the industrial, agricultural and commercial sectors in Nicaragua through lending activities.

In 2014, 75% of Lafise’s portfolio was composed of loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the bank had one of the largest geographical coverages amongst all Nicaraguan banks. Such geographical reach allows the bank to attend clients in more remote areas and extend financing lines to the agriculture sector, which is still largely underserved in the country and has limited access to finance. Overall, Lafise provides a broad range of services like financing, payments, credit cards, deposits, fund administration, insurance and internet banking. In 2014, Lafise was rated AA- (stable outlook, local long-term rating) by Fitch Ratings.

In 2008, SIFEM provided a USD 5m subordinated loan to Lafise, which is currently being repaid and is due by 2018.

In 2015, SIFEM extended a new USD 10m subordinated loan, to further grow Lafise’s SME and agriculture loan portfolio, as well as strengthen the bank’s capital structure.