ADB inks trade finance deal with 4 banks

Four private banks on Thursday signed separate agreements with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for accelerating their trade financing.

The banks are City Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, Pubali Bank and Southeast Bank.

Under the agreement, the four banks will get $40 million support from the Trade Finance Programme (TFP) of the Manila-based development bank.

The signing ceremony was held at the ADB’s country office in the capital city, BSS reports.

‘Under these agreements, ADB and the partners bank will provide loans and guarantees to support exporting and importing companies in Bangladesh, including small and medium-sized enterprises,’ said Steven Beck, ADB’s head of trade finance. ‘This agreement will help create economic growth and jobs.’

The City Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, and Pubali Bank are all new banks joining the Trade Finance Program, while Southeast Bank-which is already part of the programme-has signed a new agreement for a funded facility.

‘Bangladesh is a very active country under ADB`s Trade Finance Program. ADB`s TFP has had good experiences working with banks in Bangladesh and we are pleased to be expanding our relationships and coverage here. We look forward to continuing this trend,’ said Edward Faber, Trade Finance Program relationship manager for Bangladesh.

The programme has provided more than $2.2 billion in trade finance support in Bangladesh since 2009, through more than 1,400 transactions.

With these latest agreements, the total number of banks under TFP in Bangladesh will reach 15.