The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has added six financial institutions to its trade finance facilitation programme (TFFP).

The financial institutions are based in the US, Bolivia, China and Spain.

New participants

The Agricultural Bank of China, Export-Import Bank of China and PNC Bank of the United States have joined the TFFP as confirming banks.

Banco BISA of Bolivia has joined as an issuing bank while Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Madrid of Spain and BAC Florida Bank from the United States have joined the programme as lenders.

L/C guarantees

Under the TFFP, the IDB provides loans and extends guarantees to cover letters of credit, bills of exchange, promissory notes, bid bonds, performance bonds, advance payment bonds and other instruments used in international trade transactions.

The programme, which aims to help participant banks increase their trade finance business, now comprises a network of 227 confirming banks belonging to 87 different international banking groups in over 53 countries.

Progress

The TFFP also includes 62 issuing banks in 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries with more than US$1 billion in approved credit lines.

According to the IDB, it has issued guarantees in support of 885 individual international trade transactions totalling US$865 million.

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