State-owned bank becomes an issuing and confirming member of the TFFP network
Argentina’s Banco de Inversion y Comercio Exterior has joined the Inter-American Development Bank’s Trade Finance Facilitation Program (TFFP) as a confirming and issuing bank, the IDB announced today.
At a ceremony held recently in Washington, D.C., IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno and BICE President Mauro Alem signed the documents formalizing the Argentine state-owned bank’s participation in the TFFP, which mobilizes resources to promote trade, a key engine for growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The IDB looks forward to deepening its relationship with BICE and to strengthening Argentina’s trade with the region and the rest of the world. Trade finance plays a fundamental role in bolstering small and medium-sized importers and exporters in an inclusive and sustainable manner, enhancing their competitiveness and generating opportunities to create jobs,” said Moreno.
“The IDB's assistance has been key to BICE’s improved performance as a national development bank. The strategic support it is providing us through its non-sovereign guarantee will helps boost exports and private sector investment in the region," said Alem.
Launched in 2005, the TFFP supports economic growth through the expansion of trade finance in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Under the program, the IDB extends loans and guarantees to cover financial instruments used in international commerce, fostering access to foreign markets, lowering transaction costs and mitigating liquidity shortages.
The TFFP has built a network of 72 issuing banks and 240 confirming banks in 53 countries around the world. To date the program has yielded over $1.2 billion in credit lines and $800 million in guarantees to support more than 1,000 individual export and import transactions totaling more than $1.1 billion.
About BICE
Established in 1992, Banco de Inversion y Comercio Exterior finances productive investments and trade transactions, seeking to increase the Argentine private sector’s competitiveness, stimulate job creation and promote economic development. Trade finance is one of its principal activities, accounting for 40 percent its operations between 2003 and 2010.