At a signing ceremony with IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, the Structured and Corporate Finance Department of the IDB announced today that Bancolombia S.A. is joining the IDB’s Trade Finance Facilitation Program (TFFP) as a confirming bank.
Under the TFFP, the IDB extends guarantees to cover letters of credit, promissory notes, bid bonds, performance bonds, advance payment bonds and other instruments used in international trade transactions. The TFFP can help Bancolombia further increase its trade finance business and take advantage of the TFFP’s countercyclical effects during times of volatility in trade finance flows.
TFFPLaunched and rolled out in 2005, the TFFP is an effective tool for the IDB to support economic reactivation and growth through the expansion of financing available for international trade activities in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The TFFP currently consists of a network of 134 confirming banks belonging to 61 different international banking groups in over 37 countries, and 31 issuing banks in 14 Latin American and Caribbean countries, with US$577 million in approved credit lines. To date, the IDB has issued guarantees for more than US$266 million in support of 301 individual international trade transactions totaling US$346 million.
BANCOLOMBIA S.A.Bancolombia S.A. is the largest bank in Colombia, with total assets of US$28.63 billion, representing a market share of more than 20 percent in terms of assets. Bancolombia serves its customers through a network of 719 traditional branches, 1,660 ATMs and 240 mobile branches, covering 401 Colombian cities. Bancolombia is strongly oriented toward the corporate sector which accounts for approximately half of its loan portfolio. Other strategic business areas include retail and small and medium-sized enterprises, financial leases and mortgages.
IDB’s partnership with Bancolombia under the TFFP will be instrumental to support the expansion of intraregional trade flows between Colombia and other Latin American countries.