BLX Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA

PANAMA CITY, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- An Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders of Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. (Bladex) (NYSE:BLX) was held in Panama on Monday, November 7, to vote on a number of changes to the company's Articles of Incorporation. Although 84.54% of the shares voting at the meeting supported the proposal, a group of Government Shareholders ("Class A") opposed to certain aspects of the proposal, voted against it and prevented its passage. Overall, Class A votes in favor of the proposal totaled 57.27%, short of the 75% super-majority required for approval under the terms of the Bank's supranational charter. "While we are disappointed that the proposal did not pass, the current version of our Articles of Incorporation serves us well in conducting our business and pursuing our growth plans," said Jaime Rivera, CEO of Bladex. "We remain convinced, however, that a modernized charter will benefit the Bank and our shareholders. We will thus continue working with our Government Shareholders who voted against the proposal to address their concerns, which related overwhelmingly to the perceived impact of the changes on matters pertaining to the Class A, rather than business considerations." Bladex is a supranational bank originally established by the Central Banks of Latin America and Caribbean countries to promote trade finance in the Region. Based in Panama, its shareholders include central and state-owned entities in 23 countries of the Region, as well as Latin American and international commercial banks, and institutional and retail investors. For further information, please access our web site on the Internet at http://www.blx.com/ or contact: DATASOURCE: Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. CONTACT: Carlos Yap S., Senior Vice President - Finance of Bladex, +507-210-8563, ; or Melanie Carpenter or Peter Majeski, both of i-advize Corporate Communications, Inc., +1-212-406-3690, Web site: http://www.blx.com/

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