The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation has approved $350 million in financing that will allow National City Bank to expand its lending in emerging markets, with a focus on making housing construction loans in the nations of the U.S.-Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement.

The corporation is an agency of the U.S. government that helps foster economic development in emerging markets, in part by working with the U.S. private sector to help U.S. businesses invest overseas and manage risks associated with foreign direct investment. It provides insurance against loss due to political reasons overseas.

Of the $350 million in financing that the agency will extend to the Cleveland, Ohio,-based National City Bank as part of a lending framework agreement, 60 percent will support small and medium-sized businesses and residential mortgages in Latin America, and in Central and Eastern Europe.  About $100 million will be used for housing construction loans for low- and middle-income housing construction loans, with a special emphasis on El Salvador, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Robert Mosbacher Jr., president of the agency, applauded the framework agreement, particularly the emphasis on free trade pact countries.