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28.12.2011

BPS-Sberbank becomes IFC confirming bank

MINSK, 28 December (BelTA) - BPS-Sberbank has received the status of the confirming bank within the Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), chairman of the board of BPS-Sberbank Vasily Matyushevsky told reporters.

The status will allow the Bank to provide a new product to support Belarusian exporting enterprises, first all, the private sector, Vasily Matyushevsky said. Thus BPS-Sberbank gets an opportunity to use the guarantees of the IFC and serve as the confirming bank for the letters of credit and guarantees issued by foreign banks-participants of the Global Trade Finance Program in favor of Belarusian exporting enterprises, and thus provide risk mitigation for its clients on export transactions with counterparties, including from countries in Latin America, Africa, Middle East, Asia-Pacific region.

“Taking into account the paramount importance of the export for the Belarusian economy and the continued interest of our customers in minimizing risks on export transactions, BPS-Sberbank has promptly agreed with the IFC the terms of participation in the GTFP as a confirming bank. Cooperation with the IFC in the trade finance gives us an opportunity to provide our clients the most favorable terms for financing foreign trade operations in all regions of the world,” Vasily Matyushevsky stressed.

Cooperation between BPS-Sberbank and the IFC started in November 2009 when the Bank signed a framework agreement to join GTFP as a bank-issuer with a limit of $30 million. For two years of joint work BPS-Bank has conducted trade finance transactions worth more than $58 million under the guarantees of the IFC.

Since the launch of the Global Trade Finance Program in 2005, the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has provided guarantees worth more than $14 billion. The IFC provides partial or full guarantees covering payment risk on banks in the emerging markets for trade related transactions for more than 200 banks-issuers in 84 countries and has a total network of more than 400 banks-participants of the program.

BPS-Sberbank is a member of the Sberbank of Russia Group, the largest bank in Russia and CIS.