The New Nation - Internet Edition

ECONOMIC REPORTER

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of World Bank Group, launched Global Trade Finance Programme to help improve the trade finance operations of banks in South Asia and enable them to better support local entrepreneurs and small business.

The IFC familiarised it purposes yesterday at a press conference at Lakeshore Hotel in the city.

In the four daylong seminar, which included sessions on documentary credit, trade finance rules, guarantee instruments, asset liability management, treasury and the process of applying IFC guarantees to various financing structures, the representatives of the 16 banks of South Asia region including Bangladesh Bank, Prime Bank, Southeast Bank, Brac Bank, Exim Bank and Commercial Bank of Ceylon of Bangladesh participated in it.

Scott Stevenson, IFC Manager for Global Trade Finance Programme, said, "Our mandate as part of IFC's Global Trade Finance Programme, includes assisting banks to develop and upscale their trade finance operations; I hope the participating banks would benefit from the course." In response to a question he said the charge of the banks would vary with the political and economical conditions of a country.

Senior Financial Markets Specialist of the IFC Rehan Rashid clarified the activities of the Corporation. He said in case of opening Letter of Credit (LC) foreign banks often did not cooperate the native banks for the fear of bankrupting.

IFC played role of liaison and bridge foreign and local banks through giving guarantee of the probable risks Rehan Rashid said and added the banks, which had good reputation in banking, would be able to become a part of the programme.

The programme has provided more than $2.3 billion worth of guarantees to 97 issuing banks in 50 countries, where more than 70 per cent are issued for small and medium enterprises.