Port au Prince, Haiti, July 29, 2010—IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, is training Haitian banks on ways
to mitigate risks associated with trade finance, which could help improve
trade flows in the wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake.
In cooperation with the government of Spain, IFC hosted a two-day international
trade seminar in July that brought together 42 participants from local
banks, including Unibank, Sogebank, Capital Bank, Banque Nationale de Credit,
and Banque de la Republique d'Haïti, Haiti’s central bank. Focus
was on skills improvement and knowledge-building for staff working
in credit and risk management.
“Improving banks’ skills and efficiency in trade finance operations
will help more Haitian businesses to get connected to the global economy
in these challenging times, said Ary Naim, IFC Head for Haiti and the Dominican
Republic. “The trade finance training is part of IFC's integrated approach,
providing investment and advisory services for the Haitian private sector
to stimulate trade in Haiti and support the country’s recovery."
During the seminar, participants learned about structuring basic and complex
trade finance transactions, improving risk mitigation techniques, and upgrading
the operational and technical skills of trade finance back offices. The
program also featured sessions on documentary credit, international sales
contracts, trade finance rules and guarantee instruments, among others.
The training is part of IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program, which can
help build relationships with corresponding banks outside of Haiti, expanding
the international networks of Haitian banks and potentially leading to
new business opportunities. The program also helps position Haitian banks
in the international financial system.
Capital Bank in Haiti is an active participant of the IFC Global Trade
Finance Program as an issuing bank. Through the IFC trade guarantee, Capital
Bank has recently issued an Import Letter of Credit to support a Haitian
importer. This was the first trade transaction of Capital Bank with IFC's
support since the earthquake
The IFC Global Trade Finance Program supports trade with emerging markets
worldwide by providing risk mitigation. Since launching the Global Trade
Finance Program in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2006, IFC has issued
$2.8 billion in guarantees to facilitate trade flows with the region. The
network of issuing banks for the region has expanded to 51 banks in 19
countries. More than 48 percent of the guarantees issued benefited local
small and midsize businesses and supported interregional trade flows between
emerging market nations. In total, the program has issued $8.4 billion
in guarantees worldwide, through a network of more than 420 participating
banks. Latin America and the Caribbean has been the most active region
for the past 2 years, representing nearly 35% of the global volume of the
trade program. For more information about the program, contact Antonio
Alves, Senior Regional Head of Trade Finance for Latin America and the
Caribbean, at Aalves1@ifc.org,
or visit www.ifc.org/gtfp
IFC in Haiti
Since the earthquake, IFC approved a total of 7 projects for a total amount
of US$45 million; 3 of these projects for US$14.3 million in the garments,
hotels, and mining industries, are already under implementation, in addition
to a major energy project approved prior to the quake. These investments
are expected to create 4,000 new jobs and support an additional 1000. Furthermore
the completion of an IFC advisory project in the telecommunications sector
is bringing close to $100 million in investment from Vietnamese Viettel
in the country’s fixed line operator Teleco. Other advisory activities
are ongoing in the infrastructure, investment generation, training to small
businesses, and access to finance areas.
IFC has invested $76 million in Haiti’s private sector since 2006, helping
ensure access to finance for local firms and develop infrastructure.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development
institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create
opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives—by providing
financing to help businesses employ more people and provide essential services,
mobilizing capital from others, and delivering advisory and risk-management
services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic
uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal
2010. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.