World Bank is optimistic about growth in Latin American

Summary by BIC

The World Bank predicted that Latin America and the Caribbean will grow between 4.9 and 5% this year in spite of the turmoil in the US financial markets. Augusto de la Torre, the World Bank’s chief economist for Latin America, credited the region’s consolidated fiscal policies, lower indebtedness, improved systems to control inflation, and greater exchange rate flexibility among the reasons for its positive performance.

The World Bank also expressed an optimistic perspective towards the creation of the Bank of the South which is scheduled for inauguration next month. Both De la Torre and Pamela Cox, World Bank Vice President for Latin America, conveyed the bank’s willingness to provide assistance and guidance to the new bank which stems from their conviction that the Latin American market is large enough for both lenders and that the Bank will be a complementary financing architecture. They additionally expressed their confidence that the Bank of the South would not compete with the World Bank due to the World Bank’s decades of work experience in the region, increasingly market oriented loans, and seasoned staff members.

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