(Adds quote, background on region's economy)
By Sean Mattson
PANAMA CITY, July 15 (Reuters) - The World Bank could lend
up to $14 billion to Latin American countries in the fiscal
year that began this month, the organization's vice-president for Latin America said on Wednesday.
Pamela Cox said the unusually large sum, which matches last
year's record and is nearly three times the historical average,
was directly linked to the global financial crisis, which has
shut many countries off from international markets.
"Latin American governments do not have access to capital
markets, or have some access but do not want to crowd out the
private sector," Cox told reporters.
Most of the region's economies have been hit hard by a
crisis that began in the United States, although recent
indicators have pointed to a possible recovery.
The United Nation's Economic Commission for Latin America
and the Caribbean predicted on Wednesday that Latin America as
a whole should grow 3.1 percent next year, following the 1.9
percent contraction it has forecast for this year.
Against that backdrop, Cox said the World Bank has
sufficient funding to support high levels of lending for the
moment, but added that the future was uncertain beyond that
point.
"We can't keep doing this," she said. "We can keep this up
for one more year."
(Reporting by Sean Mattson; Writing by Pedro da Costa;
Editing by Diane Craft)
Keywords: LATAM WORLDBANK/
