OPIC Supports Housing and Mortgage Finance

Historically, OPIC has provided more than $1.6 billion in finance and insurance to support housing and 

mortgage finance projects in countries around the world. OPIC’s current investments portfolio provides more 

than $800 million to projects that introduce more ef icient building systems and large­scale housing and 

community development processes into markets where the shortage of housing is critical.

OPIC Highlights is published by Overseas Private Investment Corporation 1100 New York Avenue, N.W.  Washington, D.C. 20527

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OPIC Highlights

OPIC Board Approved

$350 Million For Lending

Facility Targeting

Housing Construction

OPIC's Board of Directors

approved $350 million in financing 

for a lending framework 

that will enable National 

City Bank to expand its 

lending in emerging 

markets, with a focus on 

housing construction 

loans in signatory coun­ 

tries of the Central 

America­Dominican 

Republic­United States

Free Trade Agreement 

(CAFTA­DR). Of the $350 million in 

OPIC financing, $100 million will 

be used for housing construction 

loans for low­ and middle­income 

housing, with a special emphasis

on CAFTA eligible countries. As

well, at least 60 percent of the 

framework's loans will be required 

to support small and medium­sized 

enterprises (SMEs) or residential 

mortgages. In addition to Latin 

America, National City will focus

on member banks in Central and 

Eastern Europe. 

As with the previous OPIC­ National City frameworks, OPIC

will share risk with National City 

in loans underwritten by the 

bank either directly or through 

its member banks to qualified 

customers, SMEs, middle mar­ ket businesses and homeowners

in OPIC­eligible countries.

"This new framework with 

National City will enable OPIC

to mobilize capital to finance

the expansion of existing businesses and the creation of new 

ones, which will, in turn, gener­ ate thousands of jobs in emerging markets," said OPIC

President and CEO Robert 

Mosbacher, Jr. "Its emphasis on 

housing construction in CAFTA 

countries, in particular, will 

result in the provision of much­ 

needed credit for a sector vital 

to the region's economic 

growth."

U.S. Small Business 

Supports First Public

Securitization of Mortgage 

Certificates in Russia

A U.S. small business has used an 

OPIC­supported loan to support the 

first public securitization of mortgage

certificates in Russia, opening a lucrative new avenue of funding for Russian 

mortgage lenders and the prospect of

more affordable terms of homeowner­ ship for Russian homeowners. Connecticut­based Greenwich 

Financial Services LLC used a $6 million OPIC loan to purchase the mezza­ nine piece of a securitization, which 

facilitated the completion of a $72.6 

million mortgage­backed securitization 

of residential mortgages originated pri­ marily in Moscow and St. Petersburg 

by a private Russian Bank, 

CityMortgage Bank. 

This project was named 2006 Deal of 

the Year by the International 

Securitization Report in January 2007. "By providing a Russian bank access

to capital markets for a mortgage­ backed securitization, this groundbreaking transaction opens the Russian 

mortgage market to dynamic sources of

funding, the ultimate benefit of which 

will be more affordable homeowner­ ship terms for Russian homeowners,"

said OPIC President and CEO Robert 

Mosbacher, Jr.
OPIC Loan Supports Growth of

Mortgage Industry in Ghana

Enabling the West African nation of Ghana to address

a shortage of both affordable housing and mortgage

finance, John Simon, Executive Vice President of the 

Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), signed an agreement establishing a full­service finan­ 

cial institution in Ghana that will originate up to 600 

mortgage loans through an operating structure similar 

to that of a mortgage bank in the United States.

OPIC is providing 

a $30 million loan 

to GHL Fund 1 

Limited, a credit 

facility and wholly­owned subsidiary of Ghana

Home Loans Ltd.

(GHL), which in 

turn is owned in 

part by Broad 

Cove Partners 

Inc., a 

Massachusetts­ based investment 

partnership. Through the facility, GHL will originate 

US­styled residential mortgages for up to 600 singlefamily residences, largely in the greater Accra region.

Ghanaians will be able to obtain 15­year GHL mort­ gages with a 25 percent down payment.

Other project sponsors include Standard Bank of South 

Africa and FMO, a developmental finance agency 

based in the Netherlands.

Simon noted that a lack of mortgage finance institutions in Ghana has made it difficult for middle class

families to own homes; in a country of 18 million peo­ 

ple, it is estimated that only 5,000 hold mortgages.

"Access to mortgage financing is a primary obstacle to 

the establishment of a modern housing industry in 

Ghana ­ and this project will help the country address

that need," Simon said. "Increasing Ghana's mortgage 

stock significantly will both provide affordable housing and support the growth of its financial infrastruc­ 

ture."

OPIC Executive Vice President John 

Simon, second from right, and GHL

Chief Executive Officer Dominic Adu,

center, sign a $30 million OPIC loan 

agreement in Accra. OPIC Board Approves $100 Million for

Housing Fund in Latin America

OPIC's board of directors approved $100 million in 

financing for a private equity investment fund that 

will support the growth of affordable housing in 

Latin America, both through home construction and 

the expansion of local capital markets.

The Alsis Latin America Fund will invest at least 

half of its capital in affordable housing projects, with 

an initial focus on Mexico and Central America. The 

fund will stimulate new housing by investing in residential mortgages in the region, and expand local 

capital markets by securitizing mortgage pools targeted at both domestic and international investors. The fund has a targeted capitalization of $300 million.

OPIC selected as fund manager Alsis Funds, a 

Delaware­based limited liability company, following 

a July 2006 call for proposals.

OPIC Guarantees Loan for Mortgage 

Lending Facility in Republic of

Georgia

OPIC's loan guarantee is supporting a $10 million 

loan facility by U.S. small business lender

WorldBusiness Capital, Inc. (WBC) that will enable 

the Bank of Georgia (GSE:GEB) to provide residen­ 

tial mortgage lending, both improving and diversifying the country's financial infrastructure by infusing 

local mortgage markets with additional capital. Bank 

of Georgia is partially owned by Firebird 

Management, a New York­based investment fund.

WBC is a commercial finance company specializing 

in loans to small and medium­sized enterprises

(SMEs) operating in emerging markets. OPIC in 

2003 entered into a cooperative agreement with 

WBC to expand support for SMEs investing overseas

and enhance the activities of OPIC's Small Business

Center.

Improved access to mortgage financing is an integral 

step in the development of every emerging market's

capital infrastructure. OPIC's partnership with 

WorldBusiness Capital is helping the Bank of

Georgia to expand its mortgage lending, thereby 

serving a rapidly­growing market in Georgia and 

potentially stimulating additional economic growth 

in the country.
OPIC Insurance Helps to Launch Housing

Program in Tanzania

A U.S. small business is using political risk insurance from 

OPIC to assist in the construction of 5,000 homes in major

cities throughout Tanzania, serving as a model for companies

considering investment in a country where 60 to 70 percent 

of urban residents live in unplanned areas lacking basic services.

OPIC is providing $12.4 million in insurance to Enterprise 

Homes, LLC for the construction of residential housing 

developments near major cities in Tanzania, amounting to 

about 5,000 homes over a period of five to seven years. Each 

residential neighborhood will consist of a cluster of singlefamily homes located on a land plot situated within 20 miles

of the central business district. The development of each land 

plot will include the installation of required infrastructure,

including roads and utilities. Enterprise Homes also plans to 

incorporate solar electric systems into the houses that it 

builds. This will allow homebuyers to have an affordable 

alternative source of power, a valuable resource in light of

the current power rationing and frequent blackouts in the 

country.

OPIC­Supported Loans facilitate 

Mortgage Lending in Central 

America

OPIC has approved a $15 million loan to 

Banco Lafise S.A. of Honduras and a $10 

million loan to Bancentro S.A. of Nicaragua

for the financing of mortgage loans for lowand middle­income households in these 

countries. In both countries, these banks will 

originate mortgage loans to low and middle 

income borrowers, then will use the proceeds of the OPIC credit facilities ($15 million for Honduras and $10 million for

Nicaragua) to refinance some of these mortgage loans using long­term funding. In 

Honduras, the bank will originate mortgage

loans valued between $9,000 and $27,000,

while in Nicaragua, the value of homes will 

be priced from $10,000 to $30,000.

U.S. Small Business Uses OPIC Loan to

Franchise Real Estate Brand in Russia

Olard Trading Limited, a U.S. small business, is using an 

OPIC­supported loan to franchise the real estate brand 

Century 21 in Russia, helping to introduce standardized 

homeownership practices to a country with a lucrative, yet 

largely unregulated, real estate market.

"Russia's real estate market is becoming an increasingly 

attractive destination for American investment, as the econo­ 

my continues its solid growth and levels of disposable 

income rise. The establishment of Century 21 offices

throughout the county will introduce standardized real estate 

practices to a largely unregulated industry, improving its efficiency and enabling it to serve as an engine of even greater 

economic growth," OPIC President and CEO Robert 

Mosbacher, Jr. said. "OPIC is pleased to support a U.S. small 

business in a project with so many developmental benefits."

If successful in Russia, franchising of the Century 21 brand 

will be extended to other countries of the Newly Independent 

States.
March 2007

OPIC is a U.S. government agency that helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign

policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers. Since 1971, OPIC has supported more than $177 billion worth of investments that have generated over $71 billion in U.S. exports and sup- ported more than 271,000 American jobs. For more information please go to www.opic.gov.

OPIC Insurance Helps Upgrade Land Registry in

Antigua and Barbuda

OPIC is providing $669,000 in political risk insurance to Stewart 

Information International, a wholly­owned subsidiary of Stewart 

Information Services Corp.(NYSE­STC), which is enabling them to 

introduce a state­of­the­art land registry system to Antigua and 

Barbuda, setting the stage for increased investment in real estate­relat­ 

ed sectors such as tourism in the country, and potentially throughout 

the eastern Caribbean.

The insurance is being used to partially cover the installation cost of

the Stewart Landfolio® system for land registry, land cadastre and 

property taxation, according to a three­year licensing agreement with 

the government of Antigua and Barbuda. Working through the coun­ 

try's Land and Survey Office, the system provides day­to­day processing of records and documents, and improves the entering of information and instructions, as well as the ability to locate and access docu­ 

ments. Once implemented, the Landfolio system will provide Antigua and 

Barbuda with the registration and title infrastructure necessary for

development of a transparent and sophisticated real estate market, as

well as raise revenue for the government in the form of property registration fees and more effective property taxation.

The project is the pilot program for an initiative, called the Eastern 

Caribbean Project (ECP), that would deploy the Landfolio system to 

other member countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean 

States. The result of a partnership between Stewart and the Inter­ American Agency for Cooperation and Development, a division of the 

Organization of American States, the ECP aims to create a standardized land registry system throughout the region to encourage the introduction of investment capital.

U.S. Small Buisness

Helps Increase 

Availability of Low­Cost

Homes in Honduras

OPIC is providing a $9.2 million 

loan to a Honduran subsidiary of a 

U.S. company for the lease­pur­ chase financing of 1,400 low­cost 

homes in the Honduran cities of

San Pedro Sula and Villaneuva. The project also features an OPIC

small business insurance 'wrap.' 

The homes will be occupied by 

employees of various companies

that lease space in an industrial 

park located in the San Pedro Sula 

region of Honduras. Currently, the 

investors are building the homes,

financing this construction through 

equity. The OPIC­supported loan 

will fund 15­year mortgage­style 

lease­purchase contracts between 

employees of the industrial park 

and the park's owner.

OPIC Guaranty Will Help Provide Shelter to Half Million in South Africa

OPIC is providing a $15 million guaranty to help build 90,000 homes for low­income families in South Africa. 

The homes will provide shelter for up to half a million people. 

The project is expected to not only help South Africa address a 2.2 million­unit shortage of low­income housing, but will also stimulate the local construction sector through expanded job opportunities and serve as an 

example for local commercial lenders for future support of low­income housing.

OPIC's guaranty will enable a U.S. for­profit company to support a local South African bank, which, in con­ 

junction with an affiliate of South Africa's National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency 

(NURCHA) will continue to on­lend Rand to private developers and contractors working with NURCHA that 

have contracts with various local governments to construct low­income houses and associated infrastructure.

In addition to addressing an acute shortage of adequate shelter, this initiative is also expected to stimulate South 

Africa's construction sector with value­added benefits for builders, contractors and sub­contractors, increasing 

skills and training in this essential sector of the South African economy.