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Washington, D.C., December 14, 2009—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced that Banco WestLB do Brasil SA joined IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program, enabling the bank to boost trade financing for local clients by giving it access to an extensive network of international banks.
IFC’s program issues trade guarantees for banks operating in emerging markets, helping mitigate the risks that otherwise might stop a bank from financing trade.
“This relationship with the Global Trade Finance Program will help us increase our capacity to provide export financing to our clients and also increase access to new markets around the world,” said Carlos Eduardo Klingelhoefer da Fonseca, Chief of Financial Institutions for WestLB do Brasil.
Andrew I. Gunther, IFC’s Brazil Country Manager said, “WestLB do Brasil’s entry into the program is a key element of IFC’s efforts to strengthen the support of Brazilian enterprises active in trade.”
Banco WestLB do Brasil will start using the program with two export financing deals totaling $18 million to support the export trade of clients in the commodities industry.
Since launching the Global Trade Finance Program, IFC has issued $2 billion in guarantees to facilitate trade flows with Latin America and the Caribbean, with a network of 47 issuing banks in the region. More than 40 percent of the guarantees issued have benefited local small and midsize businesses and supported interregional trade flows between emerging market nations.
IFC is the only international financial institution focused exclusively on the private sector, the engine of sustainable development in emerging markets. Along with IBRD, it is currently seeking a capital increase to strengthen its ability to create opportunity for the poor in developing countries—including by helping extend trade financing in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For more information about the trade program, contact Antonio Alves, Head of Trade Finance for Latin America and the Caribbean, at
aalves1@ifc.org
or visit
www.ifc.org/gtfp
.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About Banco WestLB do Brasil
Banco WestLB do Brasil SA is a subsidiary of WestLB AG, which had total assets of more than €258 billion as of September 30, 2009. WestLB do Brasil carries out innovative and tailor-made transactions for its clients and offers a wide range of products and services. The bank’s global relationships, coupled with its unique understanding of local economies, industries, and cultures, help WestLB bankers deliver high-quality advice and service. It focuses on agribusiness, energy, financial institutions, German desk, metals and mining, and infrastructure. For more information, visit
www.westlb.com.br
.
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