Washington, D.C., October 17, 2006
— The International Finance Corporation, the private sector of the World Bank Group, announced that BRAC Bank, a leader in the small and medium enterprise banking market in Bangladesh, has joined its Global Trade Finance Program.
Under the program, BRAC Bank will be able to increase its trade finance business and offer longer tenors and more competitive pricing to the smaller businesses that are its clients.
The Global Trade Finance Program supports trade with emerging markets worldwide and promotes the flow of goods and services between developing countries. Through the program, IFC provides guarantee coverage of bank risk in emerging markets, allowing recipients to expand their trade finance transactions within an extensive network of countries and banks and to enhance their trade finance coverage. IFC issued the program’s first guarantee in September 2005. Since then, it has issued 500 guarantees in excess of $450 million.
Iyad Malas, IFC’s Director for South Asia, said, “We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with BRAC Bank through the Global Trade Finance Program. By joining the program, we hope that BRAC Bank will be able to expand its network of correspondent banks and create new and valuable business opportunities for its clients in Bangladesh.”
The sectors that are expected to benefit include telecommunications, consumer goods, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and—through imports of machinery—the rapidly expanding textile sector.
Priyamvada Singh, IFC Trade Finance Officer, said, “We are very pleased to welcome BRAC Bank to the GTFP network; our facility will help BRAC Bank upscale its trade finance business as well as enhance its ability to provide efficient trade solutions for its clients.”
About IFC
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral provider of financing for private enterprise in developing countries. IFC finances private sector investments, mobilizes capital in international financial markets, facilitates trade, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to businesses and governments. From its founding in 1956 through FY06, IFC has committed more than $56 billion of its own funds for private sector investments in the developing world and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. With the support of funding from donors, it has also provided more than $1 billion in technical assistance and advisory services. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
or the Global Trade Finance Program’s Web site,
www.ifc.org/gtfp
.
About BRAC Bank
BRAC Bank was established in 2001 and has since expanded to 22 branches throughout the country, with a large presence in both rural and urban areas. Its focus is on sustainable small and medium enterprise finance (50 percent of its portfolio), with a variety of products tailored to the needs of these clients.
