Ukrainian exporters and importers will benefit from new trade opportunities following the increase of the existing trade finance facility provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Ukrgasbank (UGB).

The increase of trade limit to UGB by US$ 90 million, which brought total exposure to it under the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) to US$ 170 million, will help domestic firms continue their business activities following the outbreak of the coronavirus. The TFP line will compensate for the currently limited availability of commercial trade finance credit lines.

The importance of trade has grown immensely since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic as it helps firms to better manage commodity stocks and plan for longer trade cycles. This is recognised by the EBRD, which made the support of trade operations one of its key crisis response priorities. The Bank launched two Solidarity Packages and now expects to dedicate the entirety of its business investments of up to €21 billion in 2020-21 to overcome the economic impact of the crisis.

With 250 branches across Ukraine and almost 70,000 corporate clients, UGB is well placed to help Ukrainian businesses mitigate the disruptions in trade and supply chains.

TFP promotes international trade to, from, and within the Bank’s countries of operations, including Ukraine.

Since the beginning of their TFP partnership, the EBRD and UGB supported four green trade transactions, where the two financial institutions helped bring environmentally friendly technologies to Ukraine. In addition, the EBRD offered access to compliance and advanced trade finance skills to 70 employees of UGB. 76 scholarships were provided by the Bank to UGB’s employees to obtain professional qualifications in financial crime prevention and anti-money laundering practices.

The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost €15 billion through 466 projects in the country.

LINK: https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/ebrd-provides-us-90-million-trade-facility-to-ukrgasbank.html