Britain’s export credit agency targets small business as banks retreat

(The Telegraph, London, 25 October 2014) As more British companies begin to look overseas to tap new markets, the pressure is on George Osborne, the Chancellor, who has set a target to double the value of exports to £1 trillion by 2020, to provide greater financial support to businesses selling abroad... Traditionally, British companies were able to draw upon the financial clout of the City and the nation’s banks to help underwrite overseas projects and exports with letters of credit. But since the financial crisis most lenders have retrenched and become increasingly risk averse. That has breathed new life back into Britain’s recently re-named trade credit guarantee agency, UK Export Finance.