The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a $ 50 million Risk Participation Agreement (RPA) for Natixis.
This risk-sharing program (50/50), able to cover a portfolio of transactions up to US $ 100 million, comes in support of some US $ 600 million (cumulative value) of commercial operations out of the US $ 100 million. coming years.
“Unlocking the growth potential of foreign trade will help spur new dynamics of industrialization and regional integration that will consolidate Africa’s development path,” said Mohamed El Azizi, Executive Director of the Bank for Africa. North.
The RPA will help meet the growing demand of African markets for trade finance in vital economic sectors such as agribusiness, health, services and industry. In addition, it will promote productive diversification that generates growth, jobs and additional tax revenues for several African states.
“We are among the first banks in the world to join this program and are very proud to be involved in promoting economic and trade exchanges in Africa, ” says Anne-Cécile Delas, Global Head of Trade & Treasury Solutions at Natixis.
In particular, this agreement will support African commercial banks as well as small and medium-sized enterprises on the continent by guaranteeing them better access to financing their foreign trade operations.
“Aligned with our 2014-2019 financial sector development strategy, this operation will help strengthen and broaden Africa’s financial systems,” said Stéphane Nalletamby, Director of the Financial Sector at the African Development Bank.
This agreement comes in a context where the majority of African banks have low capitalization, which limits their ability to obtain credit lines from international banks.
This difficulty was accentuated by the tightening of regulatory capital and compliance requirements, which led international banks to reduce their commitments as well as the number of their correspondents in Africa. This partnership with Natixis is part of the response to this problem.
The Risk Participation Agreement is in line with the Bank’s five key priorities to create conditions for strong, sustainable and shared growth on the continent.
