Airbus says it has agreed process to end European export credit freeze

(Reuters, Paris, 27 July 2016) Airbus Group has agreed with European governments a process for regaining access to export credits, suspended earlier this year over flawed disclosures on the use of third-party agents to help to sell passenger jets, the company said on Wednesday. In a footnote in its half-yearly financial statements, the aerospace group said it was working with UK, French and German export credit agencies (ECA) to resolve compliance issues raised by the irregularities, which sources have said dated back years. Britain in April froze applications for government export credits for Airbus passenger jets and called in its Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after Airbus Group said it had discovered inaccuracies in applications for export support. French and German agencies quickly followed suit. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters recently that much work remained to be done in establishing a transparent framework, following what some industry observers see as a temporary breakdown of trust between Airbus Group and the European export agencies.