Washington, D.C., October 28, 2009
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will provide Banco Bradesco Argentina S.A. with trade finance guarantees that will allow the bank to increase financing for clients’ foreign trade transactions, helping lessen the impact of the global financial crisis.
By joining IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program as an issuing bank, Banco Bradesco Argentina, a subsidiary of Banco Bradesco Brazil, will be able to expand access to trade finance for businesses operating in key export and import sectors.
“We are pleased to join IFC’s trade finance program,” said Arnaldo Silva, Director and General Manager of Banco Bradesco Argentina. “This will expand our access to trade finance lines from international banks and allow us to continue supporting the growth of trade business between Brazil and Argentina.”
Enrique Cañas, IFC Country Manager for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, said: “This new association is consistent with IFC’s strategy in Argentina—to promote South-South investments— and with our commitment to strengthening the local financial market.”
IFC’s trade finance program supports trade in emerging markets by providing partial or full guarantees for individual trade transactions, using payment risk guarantees to international banks that issue financing to banks in emerging markets. The program helps banks boost their capacity for delivering trade finance in challenging markets.
Since launching the Global Trade Finance Program in 2005, IFC has issued $1.5 billion in guarantees to facilitate trade flows with Latin America and the Caribbean. The network of issuing banks for the region has expanded to 45 banks in 17 countries. More than 45 percent of the guarantees issued benefited local small and midsize businesses and supported interregional trade flows between emerging market nations. In total, the program has issued $3 billion in guarantees worldwide, through a network of more than 300 participating banks.
For more information about the 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. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About Banco Bradesco Argentina S.A.
Banco Bradesco Argentina S.A. is a subsidiary of Banco Bradesco S.A., the second-largest private bank in Brazil with 99.99 percent of shareholder participation. Bradesco Argentina’s financial statements are included in the consolidated financial statements of Banco Bradesco Brazil. Standard & Poor’s has granted Banco Bradesco Argentina a raA+ rating with stable outlook. For more information, visit
www.bradesco.com.br
.
