Six Latin American banks have joined the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IADB) Regional Trade Finance Facilitation Program (TFFP).

Five of the banks join as new issuing banks, adding an additional US$100mn in TFFP trade guarantee facility lines for a total amount of approved TFFP lines to date of US$462mn.

The banks added to the TFFP network on this occasion as both issuing and confirming banks are Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (Costa Rica), Banco Agromercantil (Guatemala), Banco Indusval (Brazil), Banco Pichincha (Ecuador) and Banco Interamericano de Finanzas (Peru).

Banco de Comercio Exterior-Bancoldex (Colombia) also joined the TFFP as confirming bank.

Banco Nacional de Costa Rica is the first Costa Rican bank and the first state-owned financial institution to join the TFFP as issuing bank, representing at the same time the first operation with a sub-sovereign entity without a sovereign guarantee under the IADB expanded mandate for operations without sovereign guarantees.

With Banco Agromercantil as the first Guatemalan bank within the TFFP, the number of countries with approved TFFP guarantee facilities rises to 13. They are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru.

“Through the TFFP, the IADB intends to foster the availability of trade finance in Latin America and the Caribbean with special emphasis on increasing intra-regional trade finance flows,” says Hans Schulz, head of the financial markets team of the IADB Private Sector Department.

“The fast-growing network of TFFP banks is expected to provide stability during times of volatility, recognising and supporting the crucial role of trade in the region’s economic growth and development.”