Hunton Andrews Kurth and BLP act for Promerica in $200m debt issuance

BLP has acted as legal advisor to Panama-based Promerica Financial Corporation (PFC) in a $200 million debt issuance.

The law firm’s role included analysing the transaction in accordance with local legislation, in addition to the final offering memorandum, the indenture and price disclosure documents, as well as the security and pledge and custody agreements and the notes. 



In addition, BLP acted as legal advisor to PFC and Tenedora Promerica Guatemala as guarantors in the formalisation of the local guarantee, subject to the debt issuance documents. BLP’s team was led by partner María Inés Arenales and also comprised associate Alcy Martínez. 



PFC owns Banco de la Producción in Nicaragua, St George’s Bank in Panama and the Cayman Islands, and Banco Promerica in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. 

PFC was also advised by Hunton Andrews Kurth, whose team was led by Fernando C. Alonso, and included Stefano D’Aniello, Andrew Spector, Carlos García, Rail Seoane, Kim Nolte, Juan Olano and Maria Laura López Martínez. The team also received support from James Davidson and Cary Tolley.

“This transaction underscores the receptiveness in the US, among institutional investors, for Latin American issuers with strong financial results and sound operations and corporate structure,” according to Hunton’s Alonso.

“Promerica’s offering is the first in the US by a Latin American financial institution holding company with multiple bank subsidiaries in several jurisdictions,” he added.

PFC is one of the few financial institutions in Central America that has managed to successfully place bonds in international capital markets, and which have an international rating of B + stable risk from Standard & Poor’s and BB- stable from Fitch Ratings, according to BLP.



The issuance allowes PFC to pay off its previous loan with Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, which was used for Promerica’s purchase of Citibank’s operations in Guatemala in 2016.