The European Investment Bank (EIB) has activated a second Trade and Export Finance (TEF2) guarantee facility for Greece.

Under the EUR 400 million facility, EIB will guarantee letters of credit (L/Cs), financial guarantees and other trade and export finance instruments issued by Greek banks.

Financial assurance

The facility aims to help small- and medium-sized Greek companies to export more and secure the imports they need for their growth.

The EIB's guarantee means that foreign customers of Greek companies can be assured that financial commitments made through L/Cs and other eligible trade instruments will be met.

Trade and tenders

Small, medium and midcap firms from across Greece can receive support for trade and export transactions with a maximum tenor of three years.

The facility will also guarantee performance bonds issued on behalf of Greek companies, thus helping Greek businesses compete in domestic and international tenders.

Second iteration

TEF2 follows the first TEF from EIB that was launched in June 2013 and expired in December 2016, and was considered a success by stakeholders.

The first TEF covered transactions for a total of some EUR 400m.

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