One of the world's oldest providers of international trade finance, including letters of credit (L/Cs), has reported strong growth at its North American division.

Chicago-headquartered Bibby Financial Services (BFS) says the division set record first-half results for 2008.

Strong growth

BFS says it has financed nearly 30% more assets than it did last year and recently experienced its strongest quarter to date, according to CEO Stewart Chesters.

He puts the division's performance down to the BFS's expanding North American presence with businesses in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, Phoenix, Toronto and West Palm Beach, as well as its flexible and responsive range of products.

Product range

The company's range of offerings includes L/Cs, receivables based lines of credit and factoring.

BFS also provides trade finance from L/Cs to purchase order finance, export finance, and specialist teams for freight bill funding.

Historical roots

Chesters reckons the deep rooted history of the division's parent group has also helped the North American division. "Having the support of a strong and historic parent company is comforting to new clients that want to work with a stable financial partner," he argues.

BFS is a division of the Bibby Line Group. Its interests extend from ship owning and offshore oil field services to contract logistics and financial services. It was founded in the UK port city of Liverpool over 200 years ago.

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