ADB, Citi Partner on New Risk Product to Help SMEs

ISLAMABAD, May 11 (APP):The Asian Development Bank (ADB), through its Trade Finance Program (TFP), has signed a $100 million agreement with Citi to share risk on a funded basis on underlying trade finance transactions to further support trade in developing markets across Asia. Citi has been working with ADB on trade finance since 2009.
“ADB’s continuing partnership with Citi will help to address the funding need of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for trade finance, which will promote growth and job creation in Asia,” said ADB’s Head of Trade and Supply Chain Finance Steven Beck. “We are pleased with the renewed agreement with Citi to address the trade finance gap.”
“As one of the world’s leading global trade banks, Citi is pleased to support this initiative to help fund trade flows with multinationals as well as SMEs in and out of developing markets,” said Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions Global Trade Head John Ahearn.
“By introducing this new product and continuing our collaboration with ADB, we look forward to furthering our mission of enabling growth and economic progress.”
Backed by ADB’s AAA credit rating, TFP provides guarantees and loans to over 200 partner banks to support trade, enabling more companies throughout Asia to engage in import and export activities, says a statement issued on Friday.
Since 2009, ADB’s TFP has supported more than 12,000 small and medium-sized businesses across developing Asia—through over 16,600 transactions valued at over $30 billion—in sectors ranging from commodities and capital goods, to medical supplies and consumer goods.
In 2017, TFP supported approximately $4.5 billion in trade through 3,505 transactions.
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.