Plata Basin Financial Development Fund


The Plata Basin Financial Development Fund, usually known by its acronym FONPLATA, is a multilateral financial entity formed by the 5 countries of this South America sub-region: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

History

FONPLATA was established on June 12th, 1974 by the Fourth Meeting of Plata Basin Chancellors. It started operations in 1977. It was at first headquartered in the city of Sucre. In 2002 it moved off to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in the same country.
FONPLATA aims to support its members' integration by financing medium and small-sized projects to be executed in specific areas, prioritising those which take place in border areas and complement efforts made by national institutions and other international cooperation agencies. Besides supporting through loans, FONPLATA finances through grants by means of technical cooperations.
Since September 27th, 2016, Standard & Poor's has rated FONPLATA with A-, stable outlook. Moody's Investors Service has rated the institution with A2.

Structure

Its governing bodies are:
Most projects FONPLATA has supported refer to infrastructure improvement, prioritising intra- and inter-regional connectivity, urban development and environment. However, FONPLATA has also supported productive and cultural development projects which were consistent with its mission of mitigating economic and social asymmetries.
FONPLATA also develops corporate social responsibility projects. Within this frame it has supported the International Festival of Renaissance and Baroque Music, and the Santa Cruz de la Sierra International Theatre Festival, both of them organised by the Bolivian Association for Art and Culture. Besides FONPLATA has taken part, with its own productions, in the Santa Cruz International Film Festival.