Cooperativa Pacífico

Established in 1970, Cooperativa Pacífico is the largest credit and saving cooperative in Peru and as such is owned by its 45,000 members. It offers a wide range of services including business and individual loans, mortgages, deposits, transfers and mobile banking services. Cooperativa Pacifico’s core focus lies on SMEs with 85% of its loan portfolio allocated to small and medium-sized companies.

SMEs in Peru struggle to access financing, due to high fees and commissions and cumbersome collateral requirements. As a cooperative, Cooperativa Pacífico looks beyond the maximization of profit, and focuses on offering affordable financial and non-financial services to its members in order to contribute to personal and community development. For example, it has established financial literacy training programs for its members and their families. SIFEM’s USD 8 million loan enables the institution to meet the increasing demand from its members for additional and longer-term SME loans. This contributes to the deepening of the financial sector beyond the traditional banking sector and supports formal job creation.