KBC Bank NV, London Branch is the latest lender to join a government scheme supporting UK exporters.
The London-based branch of KBC Bank - the largest Belgian bank in its core markets of Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria - is now participating in the General Export Facility (GEF) scheme offered by UK Export Finance (UKEF).
Last year alone, UKEF helped businesses to access over £575 million in working capital loans through this product.
This development allows the UK government - working through UKEF - to support with a partial guarantee of those loan facilities extended by KBC Bank NV, London Branch to UK exporters who are physically present in the bank's core markets.
This creates new financing opportunities for small and medium-sized UK exporters which are physically present in KBC's core markets. KBC Bank NV, London Branch is a sector-agnostic lender supporting deals across all industries, with clients ranging from SMEs to large corporations.
It is expected that UKEF will support transactions for debts ranging between £0.5 million - £50 million with a 5-year tenor.
Amy Clarke, Head of Short-Term Business, UK Export Finance, said:
I am very proud of the support we at UKEF, of behalf of the government, are able to provide for British SMEs through The General Export Facility (GEF). In the last year, it has offered over £575 million in financial support to hundreds of small businesses. "We want more businesses to have access to this support from UKEF which is why I am delighted to announce that KBC Bank NV, London Branch can now use the scheme towards its existing and future clients.
Jason Pratt, Head of Corporate Banking at KBC Bank NV, London Branch, said:
We are excited to have been accredited by UKEF to offer the General Export Facility (GEF). It will enable KBC Bank to offer access to UKEF supported products to its customer base and thereby open up further working capital financing options available to our customers to help them grow their businesses. We look forward to working with UKEF and our customers through the GEF scheme.
