BLX Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA

PANAMA CITY, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. (Bladex) (NYSE:BLX), announced today a quarterly cash dividend of US$0.15 per share, corresponding to the first quarter of 2009, during which the Bank generated US$16.7 million in Net Income. (Bladex's full First Quarter 2009 earnings release will be distributed on Wednesday, April 22, 2009, prior to the market open). Mr. Jaime Rivera, Bladex's Chief Executive Officer, stated the following: "Bladex is successfully operating in the midst of an international financial crisis with unclear long-term implications. In response, the Bank has progressively increased liquidity, decreased concentrations, reduced leverage, decreased expenses, and strengthened reserve coverage. In view of market volatility and accompanying uncertainty that show few signs of abating, however, the Board of Directors considers the new dividend amount to be consistent with the Bank's proven, prudent approach to capital management, and with the long-term interests of shareholders." The cash dividend is payable on May 7, 2009, to the Bank's stockholders as of the April 27, 2009 record date. As of March 31, 2009, Bladex had 36,422,089.79 common shares outstanding. Bladex will host its First Quarter 2009 Earnings Conference Call on Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time. Presenting for Bladex will be Mr. Jaime Rivera, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Jaime Celorio, Chief Financial Officer. To participate, please dial: (800) 311-9401 (U.S. Participants) (334) 323-7224 (From outside the U.S.) Conference ID: 8034 There will also be a live Webcast of the event at http://www.bladex.com/. For questions, please contact: Bladex, Head Office, Calle 50 y Aquilino de la Guardia, Panama, Republic of Panama Attention: Mr. Jaime Celorio, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Tel.: (507) 210-8630, E-mail: -or- i-advize Corporate Communications, Inc., 82 Wall Street, Suite 805, New York, NY 10005 Attention: Ms. Melanie Carpenter or Mr. Peter Majeski Tel.: (212) 406-3690, E-mail: 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 website at http://www.bladex.com/ DATASOURCE: Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. CONTACT: Jaime Celorio, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, +011-507-210-8630, ; or Melanie Carpenter or Peter Majeski, both of i-advize Corporate Communications, +1-212-406-3690, , for Bladex Web site: http://www.bladex.com/

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