Trade finance – typically provided by banks and other financial institutions – is crucial to the success of a developing economy. Through services such as letters of credit for importers and guarantees for exporters, trade finance facilitates transactions, allowing businesses to buy and sell goods more easily.

However, since the global financial crisis, businesses in emerging markets have struggled to access trade finance from local banks. With increasing regulatory pressure to strengthen their capital base, banks face the choice of either refusing to extend credit to businesses – inhibiting normal economic activity – or seeking partners that can share the risk to allow the wheels of these economies to keep turning.

Over the last five years, we've agreed participation facilities with three banks totalling $600 million. These partnerships, which see our partners provide guarantees to local banks, mean more trade finance products can be offered to businesses in Africa and South Asia.

Our trade finance portfolio is currently spread across nine countries – including Nigeria, Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan and Ghana – whose economies are largely dependent trade. Across these countries, our programmes have supported a total of $4.15 billion of trade.