Financial Markets Development
The following selections from a long list of past assignments are examples of Washington International areas of expertise in consulting and advisory services.
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Capital Markets:
- In Ecuador, one of our principals, sub-contracted by Price Waterhouse, worked as Senior Adviser for the Government of Ecuador on capital markets legislation and the formulation of a capital markets development strategy (1992). He also worked in Bolivia where he carried out an evaluation and prepared two-year strategic development plan for the National Securities Commission focusing on means to stimulate the issuance of private sector debt and equity instruments. (1991)
In Argentina, one of our principals worked as a consultant of the World Bank in the design (1994) and then in the final assessment (1999) of the Capital Market Development Technical Assistance Project. In Costa Rica, the principal advised the government on its financial sector reform, working closely with the Central Bank, the National Securities Commission, the Social Security Agency and the Ministry of Finance. (1993)
- In Ecuador, one of our principals, sub-contracted by Price Waterhouse, worked as Senior Adviser for the Government of Ecuador on capital markets legislation and the formulation of a capital markets development strategy (1992). He also worked in Bolivia where he carried out an evaluation and prepared two-year strategic development plan for the National Securities Commission focusing on means to stimulate the issuance of private sector debt and equity instruments. (1991)
Commercial Banking:
- One of our principals was the leading consultant for the World Bank in the design and implementation of the financial component of the Enterprise and Financial Sector Restructuring Project in Latvia (1993-2000). The work included the creation and supervision of a second-tier lending unit that provided term funding to selected commercial banks for a variety of new financial products, including project finance, leasing and housing mortgages. The work done included the successful implementation of a capitalization scheme aimed at privatization of Unibank, still a leading commercial bankin Latvia and now controlled by a Swedish group.
A team of twelve local and foreign experts headed by one of our principals, under contract with the Government of Mexico, assessed interest rate policies and business practices of two leading development banks in the country-NAFIN and BANCOMEXT-and made recommendations geared to improve these banks' pricing and business policies, so as to help with the recovery of investment and activity by private enterprises (1995-96). The same principal led an international team that formulated a comprehensive strategic plan for the restructuring and re-capitalization of the "Financiera Nicaragüense de Inversiones" (FNI), a leading financial institution in Nicaragua. (1996)
- One of our principals was the leading consultant for the World Bank in the design and implementation of the financial component of the Enterprise and Financial Sector Restructuring Project in Latvia (1993-2000). The work included the creation and supervision of a second-tier lending unit that provided term funding to selected commercial banks for a variety of new financial products, including project finance, leasing and housing mortgages. The work done included the successful implementation of a capitalization scheme aimed at privatization of Unibank, still a leading commercial bankin Latvia and now controlled by a Swedish group.
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Housing Finance:
- As a consultant for the World Bank, one of our principals worked in the preparation of a strategic assessment of the prospects and options available for the development of housing finance in Latvia (1999). As a follow-up, he was hired by the Government of Latvia to revisit the issues raised one year later and to propose specific financial instruments, including international credit and guarantees, to provide additional support for the development of the local mortgage market (2000). He also has written on housing financing practices and on social housing issues in Chile. His research has been presented in various international seminars.
In India, one of our principals directed a nine-person team of Indian and international professionals in conducting a nationwide evaluation of the Indian housing finance system for USAID and the National Housing Bank. (1998)Retained by the InterAmerican Development Bank to direct a team of specialists working on the reactivation of the private home mortgage loan market in Nicaragua, including the development of suitable vehicles for securitization and other forms of secondary market refinancing for mortgage loans. (1998)
One of our principals was retained by Central American financial group and the IFC to assist in the conceptualization, analysis, and presentation of a proposed Central American home mortgage bank, designed to securitize home mortgage loans originated by banks and savings and loans operating in the region, and to sell mortgage-backed securities to both Central American and international institutional investors. (1996)
- As a consultant for the World Bank, one of our principals worked in the preparation of a strategic assessment of the prospects and options available for the development of housing finance in Latvia (1999). As a follow-up, he was hired by the Government of Latvia to revisit the issues raised one year later and to propose specific financial instruments, including international credit and guarantees, to provide additional support for the development of the local mortgage market (2000). He also has written on housing financing practices and on social housing issues in Chile. His research has been presented in various international seminars.
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Investment Funds:
- One of the principals worked in the design and implementation of an equity fund in Chile, which was successfully launched in the early nineties. This closed-en fund was designed to make equity investments in unlisted medium-sized private companies in need of additional funding for their expansion plans.
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Pension Fund Management:
- One of our principals conducted a survey of institutional investors in El Salvador and Panama, including private insurance companies and both private and public sector pension fund management organizations, to determine their capacity and interest in participating in long-term financing of urban infrastructure projects and other municipal investments. This study was prepared for USAID's Regional Urban Development Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (RUDO/LAC), based in Guatemala City. (2000)
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Consumer SME Credit:
- One of our principals worked on the implementation plans and funding proposal for the Fundacion Covelo, a non-profit NGO established by the association of industrialists of Honduras to provide funding and technical assistance to specialized lenders working with small and micro-enterprises in Honduras. Plans adopted include the expansion of the population receiving credit services from approximately 14,000 small and micro-enterprises in 1994, to over 50,000 by end-1998. (1995)
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Insurance:
- One of our principals is participating in a World Bank-sponsored project that is trying to establish state-sponsored mortgage credit insurance and other forms of credit enhancements in Latvia (2001). This individual also has prepared a position paper for the World Bank on the use of insurance and guarantee instruments to promote the development of housing financing in the Baltic region. (2001)
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CONTACT INFORMATION
- Contact: Claudio A. Pardo
Title: Managing Director
Email: cpardo@washfin.com
Phone: 1-301-299-4754
Contact: Phillip W. Rourk
Title: Managing Director
Email: prourk@washfin.com
Phone: 503-7850-0808
Contact: Jean-Pierre Schwartz
Title: Managing Director
Email: jpschwartz@washfin.com
Phone:1-202-785-5135