Sweden’s government is considering whether to allow export credit agency (ECA) EKN to provide up to 100% cover for exports to Ukraine, after exporters spurned its current offer of 80%.

The government is set to make a final decision in December on boosting the cover ratio under EKN’s Ukraine facility to “between 90 and 100%”, a spokesperson for the agency says.

The government has also set out plans to more than double the amount of coverage available under the Ukraine facility to SKr888mn (US$81.4mn), compared to the current limit of SKr333mn.

It has further proposed extending the maximum credit period for guarantees from the end of 2026 to the end of 2028.

EKN launched the Ukraine guarantee scheme in April this year, with support from the Swedish National Debt Office, but says the product has not been attractive to exporters who are unwilling to shoulder the uncovered portion of the transaction.

“At the moment, we haven’t seen that many transactions because we have not had what I would say [is] a competitive enough coverage ratio, and that’s something that’s now being revised,” EKN chief executive Anna-Karin Jatko tells GTR.

“It’s quite difficult for corporates to want to have 20% risk on their balance sheets… I think we need a slightly higher coverage for it to be competitive.”

A change to full cover would bring EKN’s offer in line with that of neighbouring Denmark, where export credit agency EIFO bears 100% of the risk for exports to Ukraine under its own government-funded programme.

Kaare Stamer Andreasen, a Kyiv-based finance director for EIFO, told the GTR Nordics event on November 27 that ECAs must be willing to take on all the risk in transactions with Ukrainian buyers. “95% or even so somebody providing 80% cover – that’s not enough,” he said. “100% is needed.”

UK Export Finance offers 100% cover in principle for all countries, including Ukraine.

EKN says the demand has been “very low” both because of the partial cover and short availability period.

The government first proposed the changes in a national budget published in September, according to the agency spokesperson, and a final decision will be made through an instruction to EKN sometime in December.

Following that, Jatko says EKN hopes to have an updated version of the Ukraine programme available in early 2025.

Currently the agency charges the minimum premium rates allowed under the OECD country risk classifications.