Australia’s export credit agency, EFIC has signed a master working capital guarantee facility with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to help Australian exporters gain additional working capital.

The arrangement will enable CBA to lend its small to medium enterprise (SME) customers the additional working capital they need to finance their international sales contracts.

“In today’s climate, where exporters are already struggling with the added pressure of a strong Australian dollar, this sort of facility is particularly important to ease the pressure on cash flow and underpin growth. We hope to work with many exporters moving forward, providing them with the right financial requirements to help them stay competitive,” explains Tony Sacre, global head of trade finance and international payments, CBA.

Andrea Govaert, EFIC’s executive director, SME and mid-market adds: “Some of the exporters EFIC has supported have such potential with innovative products and incredible business acumen, but their finances are absolutely stretched, and the value of their assets is insufficient to enable the lender to provide additional finance.”

The guarantee facility follows last year’s EFIC agreement with Westpac, which was signed in November 2010.