Nigeria's First Bank secures BNDES credit facility

The Brazilian development bank BNDES (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economic e Social) have extended a US$63mn facility to the First Bank of Nigeria to help support the bank finance Brazilian imports.

This deal reflects the bank's strategy of promoting bilateral trade between Nigeria and other emerging economies, and this deal will no doubt herald greater Nigeria-Brazil trade flows.
BNDES was set up in 1990, and since then it has supported US$16bn-worth of export finance deals, of which US$4bn were financed by special pre-shipment lines.

First Bank is a Nigerian bank with presence across the globe. On February 1, 2008, it was the first Nigerian quoted company to reach the 1tn market capitalisation level.

In another significant step towards cultivating links with emerging markets, the bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Guangdong Xinguang International Group on the proposed US$500mn project in the Ogun State Free Trade Zone in December 2007.

In early 2008 it signed a further MoU with China Construction Bank (CCB) with the intention of supporting its business in trade finance, credit lines, syndication and project finance, among other disciplines.