Sustainability in export finance – the push for change

(TXF News, London, 2 February 2022) The volume of sustainable deals within the export finance sector is growing. But to take this forward positively across all industrial sectors requires a sensible debate with a clear pathway to ensure business is not lost. Widespread sustainability within export finance is something which has come relatively late to the framework of export credit agency-backed financing, particularly when compared to development bank financing activity. For some time there has been a wide perception that export financing is lagging behind DFI financing in terms of overall sustainability. But its here now and is on the agendas of ECAs and most international commercial banks alike. This has not been easy and will still be tough for ECAs going forward. Why? Because ECAs are there to support and service their exporters, and many of these companies are going to be involved in some way and in some part of the energy transition for decades to come. This is a big debate which will no doubt rage for some time to come. The issue of sustainability within the export finance industry grew last year with the publication of the International Chamber of Commerce White Paper on Sustainability in Export Finance.