Caja Los Andes (Bolivia) diversifies into rural lending
Reinsch, Myka | Azevedo, Joao Pedro | Pearce, Douglas | Brar, Amitabh
Caja Los Andes (CLA) has distinguished itself as a profitable, diversified provider of individual loans in the highly competitive Bolivian microfinance market. (Caja Los Andes, F.F.P., became Banco Los Andes Procredit in January 2005.) After inheriting a three-year-old urban lending portfolio from its parent organization (Procrédito) in 1995, CLA immediately began to expand its operations to rural areas and add agricultural loans to its portfolio. Despite a difficult recession that began in 1999, CLA has performed well and continues to hold close to 10 percent of its total portfolio in rural and agricultural loans. This case study examines the adaptation of CLA's urban lending methodology for rural and agricultural loans, its risk management techniques for agricultural finance, and the impact of socio-political constraints in Bolivia that limit portfolio growth.
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