The Latin American Bank of Foreign Trade S.A. (Bladex) was originally established by the central banks of Latin America and the Caribbean, as a multinational organization that would contribute to increasing the financing capacity of foreign trade in the Region. Since the beginning of its operations in 1979, the Bank has been dedicated to serving the Latin American market and in 1992, Bladex became the first banking institution in Latin America to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the first bank in the Region to obtain investment grade.Bladex's competitive advantages arise from the regional scale of its business in Latin America, its products and its expertise in the foreign trade value chain financing market.