World Bank loan to Honduran bank under scrutiny

The World Bank's commitment to change its lending practices to the private sector has been called into question by campaigners over a proposed multimillion-dollar loan to a Honduran commercial bank.

In January, the bank's internal auditor said its private sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation, IFC, failed to comply with its own policies and ethical standards when it loaned millions of dollars to Dinant, a Honduran palm oil company with alleged links to assassinations and forced evictions.

Campaigners say a proposed $15 million loan to commercial bank Davivienda in Honduras suggests the IFC has not learned its lessons from the Dinant affair.

Source: The Guardian