The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed a US$700mn deal with Standard Chartered that is expected to support trade volumes worth US$6.4bn over three years.

The investment is part of the IFC’s global trade liquidity programme (GTLP), which provides liquidity or guarantees for trade in emerging markets, bringing together governments, banks and development institutions.

Around 850 importers and exporters of commodities and essential goods across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America will be supported by the facility.

Standard Chartered has been a partner of the GTLP since 2009. Its GTLP facilities have supported over US$20.5bn in global trade via more than 150 emerging market issuing banks across 17,746 transactions, without any defaults, the organisations say in a statement.

The GTLP also has a climate component and is looking to expand into food security and markets covered by the International Development Association, which provides concessional loans and grants to the 75 poorest countries.

Sunil Kaushal, Standard Chartered’s regional chief executive officer for Africa and the Middle East, says: “As a leading trade bank, we have a crucial role to play in enhancing the accessibility to the capital and liquidity needed to facilitate global trade, and to do so in a sustainable manner.”

“The joint work of Standard Chartered and the IFC trade and supply chain department over the years has helped support trade in emerging markets, a key component of growth and job creation,” says Mohamed Gouled, IFC vice-president.

“Given our aligned footprint, shared vision for sustainable development and ability to deploy capital and expertise where our support is needed the most, I look forward to continuing to innovate together,” Gouled adds, noting that the IFC is looking to put more focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and support smaller suppliers.

In previous years, the IFC has agreed deals with a range of banks through the GTLP. In 2020 Citi partnered with the organisation on an US$800mn deal to support businesses coping with the pandemic, which formed part of the US$2bn earmarked for the GTLP out of the IFC’s US$8bn Covid-19 fast-track financing support package.