US private lender takes on land with approvals still pending

Cocoa & Company SAS has raised $1.26 million USD in working capital against an undeveloped tract on the Cartagena-Barranquilla corridor, closing a cash-out refinance with Kennedy Funding, a private direct lender based in Englewood, New Jersey. The lender said it reached the borrower through commercial mortgage brokers in Colombia, disclosed the transaction on July 28, 2026. The property lies near Cartagena, off the route to Barranquilla.

Kennedy Funding said subdivision approvals are still in process and the project remains at the feasibility stage. The collateral is a roughly 20-hectare parcel — nearly 50 acres — with direct access to National Route 90A-01. Cocoa & Company plans a residential subdivision there.

The board of the Banco de la Républica (Bank of the Republic), the country’s central bank, voted on July 31, 2026, to hold the monetary policy rate at 12%. Four directors backed the hold and three voted for a 50-basis-point increase. Analysts at Bancolombia (NYSE: CIB) had forecast in April 2026 that the rate would climb to 12%, Finance Colombia reported at the time.

National Route 90A-01 is the Vía al Mar (Road to the Sea). It forms the Cartagena-Barranquilla leg of a 146-kilometer toll road concession signed with the Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura (National Infrastructure Agency), or ANI, as Contract 004 on September 10, 2014. The concession pairs 109.3 kilometers between the two cities with the 36.7-kilometer Circunvalar de la Prosperidad (Prosperity Ring Road) linking Malambo, Galapa, Puerto Colombia and Barranquilla. The concessionaire, Concesión Costera Cartagena Barranquilla, which trades as Ruta Costera, brought the full corridor into service in December 2021. Colombian transmission and infrastructure group ISA (BVC: ISA) acquired all of its shares through its Chilean roads unit, closing in October 2020.

Developers sold 3,965 homes in the department of Bolívar, which contains Cartagena, in the first half of 2026, started 3,012 units and launched 3,557, according to Camacol Bolívar, the regional chapter of the Colombian construction chamber, in figures reported by El Universal. Only the subsidized tier grew: social-interest housing accounted for 2,452 of those sales, up 26.6% year over year, while the mid- and upper-tier segment fell 28.8%, to 1,513 units from 2,126. Irvin Pérez, manager of Camacol Bolívar, told the newspaper that recent months have been challenging for the construction sector, citing macroeconomic conditions, difficulty accessing credit and the need to strengthen housing policy instruments.

Kennedy Funding has operated since 1987 and moved into its Englewood headquarters in January 2022. It announced in April 2022 that it had passed $4 billion USD in closed loans.

“International lending isn’t just about financing a property—it’s about understanding the market behind it,” said Edwin Urrego, executive loan officer at Kennedy Funding. “Every country has its own legal, regulatory, and cultural landscape. Our experience allows us to navigate those differences and provide financing solutions for borrowers pursuing opportunities that many lenders simply aren’t equipped to handle.”

“International lending has been part of Kennedy Funding’s DNA for decades,” said Kevin Wolfer, the firm’s chief executive officer. “Our experience, creativity, and willingness to think beyond traditional lending boundaries allow us to help borrowers move projects forward where others may not.”

Edwin Urrego, executive loan officer at Kennedy Funding. (Photo: Kennedy Funding handout)

As previously announced, the principal amount outstanding under the bridge loan is convertible at a price of USD $0.22 per share (being the US dollar equivalent of CDN $0.29, which was the closing price of the common shares of CGX prior to the December 4, 2018 announcement of the amendment to the bridge loan).

As a result of conversion of the loan, Frontera will acquire an additional 40,000,000 common shares of CGX (representing approximately 17.23% of the issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis). Immediately prior to the conversion of the loan, Frontera beneficially owned and/or exercised control or direction over 157,383,129 common shares (representing approximately 67.78% of the issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis), and if all convertible securities held by Frontera were exercised, 212,392,155 common shares (representing approximately 73.95% of the issued and outstanding common shares on a partially-diluted basis).

Immediately following the conversion of the bridge loan, Frontera will beneficially own and/or exercise control or direction over 197,383,129 common shares (representing approximately 72.51% of the issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis), and if all convertible securities held by Frontera were exercised, 212,392,155 common shares (representing approximately 73.95% of the issued and outstanding common shares on a partially-diluted basis).

CGX Energy is a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration company focused on the exploration of oil in the Guyana- Suriname Basin. Frontera Energy Corporation is a Canadian public company and a explorer and producer of crude oil and natural gas, with operations focused in South America. Frontera has a diversified portfolio of assets with interests in more than 40 exploration and production blocks in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Guyana.

The rating is based upon the Colombian bank’s issuer default rating, which Fitch recently improved from a negative to stable outlook. The notes will be used to repay a senior bridge loan due next year on January 11, with “any excess proceeds” planned to go toward “general corporate purposes,” according to Fitch Ratings.

The agency said that Banco de Bogotá’s BBB issuer default rating, among others, is rooted in its “solid and consistent” financial performance, “sound” asset quality, “ample and diversified” funding base. The firm’s conservative credit and risk policies are also a factor in its BBB rating.

On the downside, Banco de Bogotá still has credit weakness due to its capitalization level compared to international peers. “More importantly, its ratings remain constrained by Fitch’s assessment on the operating environment of the jurisdictions in which Bogota’s businesses are performed,” stated the credit rating agency.

The notes, which will mature in 10 years and include semi-annual interest payments at a fixed interest rate, “will rank pari passu in right of payment with all of the bank’s existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness,” according to Fitch Ratings. “The settlement amount paid to the investors will be denominated in U.S. dollars.” The notes may be called at the option of the Grupo Aval-controlled bank.

In full, Fitch Ratings has set the following ratings for Banco de Bogotá:

• Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR ‘BBB’; outlook stable
• Short-term foreign currency IDR ‘F2’
• Long-term local currency IDR ‘BBB’; outlook stable
• Short-term local currency IDR ‘F2’
• Viability rating ‘bbb’
• Subordinated debt rating ‘BBB-‘
• Support rating ‘2’
• Support rating floor ‘BBB-’

Photo credit: Jared Wade