IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is extending a US$10 million trade finance-guarantee facility to Ipoteka Bank to support Uzbekistan’s exporters and importers and help protect the country’s economy from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With this agreement, JSCMB “Ipoteka-bank” becomes the fourth Uzbek bank to join IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP).
“JSCMB “Ipoteka-bank” can now support local importers and exporters, especially at this critical time when shipments are being delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Shukhrat Atabaev, Chairman of the Management Board of JSCMB “Ipoteka-bank”. “The expansion of the bank’s trade-finance operations will help integrate our clients into regional and international trade flows and increase trade volumes between Uzbekistan and other countries.”
Cassandra Colbert, IFC Regional Manager for Central Asia, said, “Supporting the private sector is critical to restoring economic stability and preserving jobs during these challenging times. The trade line to Ipoteka-bank will enable the bank to support importers, distributors, and exporters of Uzbekistan’s products, thus facilitating trade, a major driver of economic growth and development.”
IFC’s GTFP provides risk mitigation under a $5 billion envelope by guaranteeing trade-related payment obligations of banks in developing economies. Since its inception in 2005, the program has issued more than 63,000 guarantees for trade-finance transactions to support the growth of various sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, and health care. IFC’s Trade Solutions has supported more than $180 billion trade in more than 90 countries.
The guarantees are transaction-specific and can be supported by a variety of underlying instruments such as letters of credit, trade-related promissory notes, accepted drafts, bills of exchange, guarantees, bid and performance bonds, and advance-payment guarantees. The guarantees are available for all private-sector trade transactions that meet IFC's eligibility criteria.
