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CSOs request ECAs discontinue financing of coal projects

CSOs have written to urge OECD Export Credit Agencies to discontinue financing of coal projects, to suggest the provision of beneficial financing for carbon capture and storage and other fossil fuel technologies in the Sector Understanding and to express concern re the need for increased transparency from the OECD Export Credit Group and the Participants with respect to climate change-related policy setting and implementation processes.

Read their letter here

European Parliament approves anti-corruption and human rights report

(European Parliament, Strasbourg, 8 October 2013) The European Parliament has approved a resolution on corruption and human rights in the public and private sectors which includes a clause calling on bilateral and multilateral financial institutions, including the World Bank Group, IMF, regional development banks, export credit agencies and private sector banks, to require extractive companies and governments to comply with the ‘Publish What You Pay’ requirements and/or EITI standards on transparency of payments as a pre-condition for all project support.

Ex-Im Bank Supports Export of U.S. Aircraft for Food Security in Brazil

(Ex-Im Bank, Washington, 1 October 2013) The Export-Import Bank of the United States has announced support for a 7-figure purchase of 2 new American agricultural aircraft by a soybean and corn agribusiness in Brazil from Air Tractor Inc. Ex-Im provided a medium-term insurance policy that was designed to mitigate risk in export of capital goods. Friends of the Earth Europe notes that "Soy expansion has devastating impacts on people. It is linked to significant increases in the prices of staple foods. Smallholder farmers and indigenous communities are displaced from their land because of it. This destroys small farms which have traditionally grown a large proportion of the food staples people need. Soy is causing family farms to die out, thus reducing food security."

Vnesheconombank and the Export-Import Bank of China Sign Framework Agreement

(Vnesheconombank, Moscow, 22 October 2013) In the course of the 18th regular meeting of the Heads of State in the presence of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Premier of China’s State Council Li Keqiang, Vnesheconombank signed a framework agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China on opening a credit line worth 700 million US dollars. The agreement provides for extending credit facilities to Vnesheconombank to fund projects to be implemented on Russia’s territory in partnership with Chinese companies.

Jubilee Australia calls for review of Australian ECA links to Leighton Holdings bribery scandal

(Jubilee Australia, Sydney, 15 October 2013) In the past two weeks corporate Australia has been rocked by reports of bribes being paid by one of the country’s largest companies, Leighton Holdings. These bribes were supported by Australian taxpayers’ money, handed out by a little-known and secretive government body called the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC).

OECD Working Party on Export Credits Consultation with Civil Society

(OECD ECG, Paris, 8 October 2013) ECA Watch has been invited to a Consultation between Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Members of the OECD’s Working Party on Export Credits and Credit Guarantees (ECG) and the Participants to the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits to take place on Tuesday, 19 November 2013, from 9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m., at the OECD Conference Centre, Paris. The aim of this Consultation is to provide an opportunity for representatives from NGOs, banking, business, industry and trade unions to exchange views with OECD Members on issues relating to officially supported export credits. The Secretariat will also provide an update of recent and current developments. The last public minutes of the ECG's regular meetings posted on their web site are for their April 2011 meeting.

Aircraft-backed bonds grow as ECA and commercial bank finance slows

(Reuters, London, 11 October 2013) The bond markets are turning into a regular funding platform for airline companies which have in the past relied heavily on export credit agencies and commercial bank lending to finance deliveries of their vast aircraft fleets. The opening of the bond funding option has come as a blessing for airlines, which are finding it harder to fund or refinance their aircraft via the traditional route of export credit agencies and commercial bank lending. Beginning in January, higher fees and equity requirements mandated by the OECD went into force, according to Boeing Capital Corp, which in a note to investors said that, barring any severe shock, export credit support for new aircraft deliveries is expected to keep declining. Moreover, commercial bank lending has become more expensive, leaving the capital markets as the most cost-effective option for funding.

Atradius Dutch State Business expands Dutch export financing pool to non-OECD banks

(Atradius Dutch State Business, Amsterdam, 15 October 2013) Dutch ECA Atradius Dutch State Business has announced that banks outside the OECD area are now eligible for export credit cover if they finance Dutch exports. Up to now, only banks from the Netherlands and other OECD countries could benefit from insurance and guarantees which Atradius provides on behalf of the Dutch State. By extending its cover to more banks globally, Dutch companies can attract financing for their exports from a larger pool of banks. This wider choice of bank financing gives them a competitive advantage.

Berne Union elects new officers

(Creditman, Vienna, 15 October 2013) At its Annual General Meeting 2013, the Berne Union – International Union of Credit & Investment Insurers, elected new officers, including President, Vice President and Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs. The Berne Union combines public export credit agencies (ECAs) and private market insurers of export credit and investment. Public and private players in the Berne Union cooperate and join their strengths in the form of underwriting expertise and insurance capacity. Since the global financial crisis in 2008, Berne Union members have indemnified approximately US$ 22 billion to exporters and investors, protecting them from losses suffered due to buyer defaults in all regions of the world.

German Seminar on OECD Common Approaches - 11 November 2013 - Berlin

The Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance, the OECD and the German Institute for Human Rights are holding a joint meeting on: Social and human rights standards in the promotion of foreign trade to implement the "Common Approaches on the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits" of the OECD and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The meeting will be held at the HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA School of Governance in Berlin from 18:00-21:00 on 11 November 2013. Some English-German simultaneous translation will be available.