SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
6-K
Report
of
Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 Or 15d-16 Of The
Securities
Exchange Act of 1934
For
the
month of August of 2007
BANCO
LATINOAMERICANO DE EXPORTACIONES, S.A.
(Exact
name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
LATIN
AMERICAN EXPORT BANK
(Translation
of Registrant’s name into English)
Calle
50
y Aquilino de la Guardia
P.O.
Box
0819-08730
El
Dorado, Panama City
Republic
of Panama
(Address
of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)
(Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)
(Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained
in
this Form is also thereby furnishing information to the Commission pursuant
to
Rule 12g-3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.)
(If
“Yes”
is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b). 82__.)
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto
duly authorized.
August
09,
2007 |
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|
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Banco
Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. |
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By: |
/s/ Pedro
Toll |
|
Name:
Pedro Toll |
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Title:
Deputy Manager |
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLADEX
SIGNS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH FIMBANK P.L.C TO
OFFER
FULL FACTORING SERVICES IN LATIN AMERICA
Panama
City, Republic of Panama, August 9, 2007 - Banco Latinoamericano de
Exportaciones, S.A. (“Bladex”) (NYSE: BLX), announced today the signing of a
memorandum of understanding with FIMBank p.l.c., Malta (“FIMBank”) to
establish a joint-venture company that will offer full factoring services to
companies, banks and other financial institutions in Latin America, with a
focus
on both international and domestic markets. The factoring business offers an
attractive growth opportunity for Bladex and FIMBank in Latin America as
companies seek to translate discounted receivables into improved cash flow.
Jaime
Rivera, Chief Executive Officer of Bladex, stated, “This agreement with a
world-class partner in FIMBank is further evidence of Bladex’s evolving trade
finance franchise. With FIMBank’s expertise in factoring, coupled with Bladex’s
knowledge of Latin America and distribution capabilities, this joint venture
will allow Bladex to offer a greater range of trade finance-related products
and
further diversify its revenue streams.”
Margrith
Lutschg-Emmenegger, President of FIMBank, stated, “We are extremely honored to
partner with Bladex to launch the factoring product to Latin American countries
under the most professional standards. Factoring is the fastest growing trade
finance product, outperforming all other instruments in international as well
as
domestic trade, especially with regards to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
(SME’s), a very important sector that supports and benefits the global
economy.”
About
Bladex
Bladex
is
a supranational bank originally established by the Central Banks of Latin
American and Caribbean countries to promote trade finance in the Region. Based
in Panama, its shareholders include central banks and state-owned entities
in 23
countries in the Region, as well as Latin American and international commercial
banks and institutional and retail investors.
About
FIMBank p.l.c., Malta
FIMBank
p.l.c., Malta (“The Bank”) is part of the FIMBank Group, which comprises London
Forfaiting Company, Ltd., and FIM Business Solutions Ltd. as wholly-owned
subsidiaries,
as well as Global Trade Finance (India), MenaFactors (Dubai), and EgyptFactors
(Egypt), as factoring affiliates. The Bank’s principal activity is that of
providing short-term international trade finance to corporate traders and to
act
as an intermediary to other financial institutions for international
settlements, forfaiting and loan syndications. With operations throughout the
world, the Bank has representative offices in London and Dubai.
For
further information, please access our web site on the Internet at www.blx.com
or
contact:
Bladex,
Head Office, Calle 50 y Aquilino de la Guardia, Panama, Republic of
Panama
Attention:
Carlos Yap S., Senior Vice President - Finance
Tel.:
(507) 210-8563, E-mail: cyap@blx.com
-or-
i-advize
Corporate Communications, Inc., 82 Wall Street, Suite 805,
New
York, NY 10005
Attention:
Melanie Carpenter / Peter Majeski
Tel.:
(212) 406-3690, E-mail: bladex@i-advize.com