On May 10, 2018 in Manila, the Philippines, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement with Citi to further support trade in developing markets across Asia.
Specifically, the ADB, through its Trade Finance Program (TFP), has signed a US$ 100 million agreement with Citi to share risk on a funded basis on underlying trade finance transactions to further support trade in developing markets across Asia. Citi has been working with the ADB on trade finance since 2009.
“ADB’s continuing partnership with Citi will help to address the funding need of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for trade finance, which will promote growth and job creation in Asia,” said ADB’s Head of Trade and Supply Chain Finance Mr. Steven Beck. “We are pleased with the renewed agreement with Citi to address the trade finance gap.”
“As one of the world’s leading global trade banks, Citi is pleased to support this initiative to help fund trade flows with multinationals as well as SMEs in and out of developing markets,” said Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions Global Trade Head Mr. John Ahearn. “By introducing this new product and continuing our collaboration with ADB, we look forward to furthering our mission of enabling growth and economic progress.”
Backed by the ADB's AAA credit rating, TFP provides guarantees and loans to over 200 partner banks to support trade, enabling more companies throughout Asia to engage in import and export activities. Since 2009, the ADB’s TFP has supported more than 12,000 small and medium-sized businesses across developing Asia—through over 16,600 transactions valued at over US$ 30 billion—in sectors ranging from commodities and capital goods, to medical supplies and consumer goods. In 2017, TFP supported approximately US$ 4.5 billion in trade through 3,505 transactions.
VA