-- CMAC Arequipa becomes first caja municipal in Perú to tap local capital markets
-- Money raised through oversubscribed Certificate of Deposit Offering
-- Offering part of larger debt program seeking to raise up to S/.250,000,000 or approximately USD 86.6 million

Lima, Peru, [August 25, 2010] – Caja Municipal de Ahorro y Crédito Arequipa, (CMAC Arequipa), a leading municipal savings and loans association, announced that it has raised S/.10 million (approximately USD 3.5 million) in local currency through the completion of a Certificate of Deposit (CD) offering. With this offering, CMAC Arequipa becomes the first Peru-based, non-banking microfinance provider of its kind to tap into the local capital markets.

Peru has one of Latin America’s more enabling and sophisticated microfinance industries and this offering is part of a larger debt program approved by CONASEV (Comisión Nacional de Supervisora de Empresas y Valores), Business and Securities National Supervisory Commission, to raise up to S/.250,000,000 (approximately USD 86.6 million) through the capital markets.

“We received widespread interest from a range of investors, especially government and private financial institutions, demonstrating the institution’s strong position and reputation with investors and the general public,” said Felix Alfredo Cruz Suni, CFO of CMAC Arequipa, “by tapping into yet another financing source, CMAC Arequipa can now operate under more favorable conditions in the rapidly evolving Peruvian market.”

The offering was approximately three times oversubscribed at S/.28.3 million allowing the Peruvian entity to easily meet the S/. 10 million (approximately USD 3.5 million) target they set out to raise. The CDs are negotiable 1-year notes with an annual interest rate of approximately 4.09%. The structuring agent was Citibank del Peru S.A. and the placing agent was Citicorp Perú S.A., S.A.B.

CMACs, one of several types of financial institutions contributing to the growth of Peru’s nationwide microfinance sector, are the largest providers of microfinance in Peru. CMACs comprise 45% (approximately USD 2.1 billion) of the total microloan portfolio, of which CMAC Arequipa alone contributes more than 21% and reaching 175,000 borrowers throughout the country.

“The microfinance sector needs commercial monies to meet the remaining unmet demand of one billion people without access to basic financial services, and we’re very excited to see CMAC Arequipa set a precedent by harnessing the power and resources of Peru’s robust capital markets. We would like to congratulate CMAC Arequipa in this landmark transaction in its home market,” said WWB president and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian. WWB is a long-standing partner to CMAC Arequipa and provided essential advisory services throughout the process.

WWB Capital Markets Group works with its network members worldwide, encouraging and facilitating access to local capital markets. During 2009 WWB published A Guide to Select Emerging Markets for Microfinance Issuers and International Investors: Colombia to deepen and promote the participation of foreign investors in the local Colombian capital markets. WWB will publish similar guides for Mexico, Brazil and Peru by year-end 2010.

About CMAC

CMAC Arequipa is a leading microfinance institution in Peru that has been serving low-income populations over 24 years. It mission is to offer the best quality microfinance products and services to its clients. The institution has over 150,000 borrowers and more than 350,000 depositors. It has 56 branches and 200 points of service countrywide. Since its inception in 1986, CMAC Arequipa has operated with the clear objective of serving low income populations that traditionally do not have access to financial products and services promoting the growth and development of the productive work force in Peru. For more information on CMAC Arequipa, please visit its website at www.cmac-arequipa.com.pe

About WWB

WWB is a leading global network of 40 microfinance providers and banks, working in 28 countries to bring financial products and services to low-income entrepreneurs, especially women. The network is supported by an international team of experts based in New York who deliver expertise in product design and distribution, access to capital markets, and customer care and insight. The network serves over 24 million micro-entrepreneurs, 80% of whom are women. For more information on WWB, please visit its website at www.womensworldbanking.org

Press contact:
Anu Ramamurty Edelman
212-704-8155
Anu.ramamurty@edelman.com