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Belgrade, Serbia, June 10, 2011
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $20 million trade facility to Eurobank EFG a.d. Beograd to help the bank expand its trade finance operations to Serbia as the country rebounds from the global financial crisis.
The bank will use the facility to increase trade finance offerings and mobilize pre-export financing for companies active in the country’s key job-creating sectors, including small and medium enterprises.
“Joining IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program will help us provide trade solutions to our clients and increase their access to new markets around the world,” said Giorgio Pradelli, General Manager of Eurobank EFG Group and Head of International Activities.
IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program supports trade with emerging markets worldwide by providing risk mitigation. By extending and complementing banks’ capacity to deliver trade finance solutions, IFC aims to increase developing countries’ share of global trade.
“IFC´s support to Eurobank’s Belgrade subsidiary is in line with our strategy in Serbia to improve access to finance for small and medium enterprises and to expand global trade opportunities for local firms, helping mitigate the impact of the financial crisis and create much-needed jobs,” said Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC Director for Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Europe.
Since its inception in 2005, IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program has issued more than 9,100 guarantees to support over $12 billion in trade finance transactions in emerging markets. The program extends and complements the capacity of banks to deliver trade finance for importers and exporters on a per-transaction basis in challenging markets where trade lines may be limited. Through the program, IFC provides coverage for over 200 issuing banks in more than 84 emerging markets and has a network of more than 400 participating banks from around the world.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
For more information about the Global Trade Finance Program, contact Mark Rozanski, Regional Head, Trade Finance, Europe and Central Asia, at
MRozanski@ifc.org
or visit
www.ifc.org/gtfp
.
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