EIB and Citi to boost exporters
Export and import companies across Greece will benefit from a new 350-million-euro trade finance partnership between the European Investment Bank and Citi that was signed on Wednesday in Athens.
This signature represents the third expansion of the EIB’s Trade Finance Facility (TFF) program, totaling €550 million, and will directly support the trade and export finance services provided by participating Greek banks to local private companies.
The EIB’s Trade Finance Facility program, in which Citi has been the leading partner since its initial launch in 2013, was developed especially for Greece to address a market gap that continues to restrict international business for Greek companies by offering trade guarantees covering exchange rate, political and payment risks. Greece is the only country in Europe benefiting from this initiative.
Following Wednesday’s agreement, in just a few weeks, private companies across Greece will gain access to a new pool of €350 million in trade financing. This will be organized locally by Eurobank, Piraeus and National Bank, and will be guaranteed by the EIB and Citi. Other international banks may follow for the remaining amount in this third cycle of the program.
