BLX Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA

Bladex Announces Prepayments of Argentine Loans PANAMA CITY, April 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. - Bladex (NYSE:BLX) (or the "Bank"), announced today the receipt of US$110 million in prepayments on Argentine obligations during the first quarter of 2005. The Bank will account for the impact of these prepayments by reversing allocated credit loss provisions and impairment loss on securities back to earnings. These prepayments, together with the reversal of allocated credit loss provisions related to scheduled principal payments and asset sales related to the Bank's Argentine obligations, will generate a profit for accounting purposes of approximately US$33 million, which will increase the Bank's equity capital by the same amount. The receipt of these prepayments, and scheduled principal payments and asset sales, will result in a reduction of the Bank's credit portfolio in Argentina from US$240 million at December 31, 2004, to approximately US$102 million at March 31, 2005. Net of allowance for credit losses, the Argentine credit exposure amounted to US$46 million at March 31, 2005, compared to US$156 million at December 31, 2004. Bladex is a supranational bank originally established by the Central Banks of Latin American and Caribbean countries to finance and promote trade in the Region. Based in Panama, its shareholders include central banks and state- owned entities in 23 countries in the Region, Latin American and international commercial banks, and institutional and retail investors. Bladex will announce its quarterly earnings results on May 5, 2005, with an investor conference call with the Bank's management to follow on May 6, 2005. For further information, please access http://www.blx.com/ or contact: Carlos Yap, Senior Vice President - Finance, Tel.: (country code 507) 210-8581, E-mail: -or- i-advize Corporate Communications, Inc. 80 Wall Street, Suite 515 New York, NY 10005 Attention: Melanie Carpenter / Peter Majeski Tel.: (212) 406-3690, E-mail: DATASOURCE: Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. CONTACT: Carlos Yap, Senior Vice President, Finance, Bladex, +011-507-210-8581, or ; or Melanie Carpenter or Peter Majeski, both of i-advize, +1-212-406-3690, or , for Bladex Web site: http://www.blx.com/

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