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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
NEW YORK—Marsh Inc. has brokered a $532 million trade credit insurance policy for the World Bank Group's International Financial Corp., Marsh announced Monday.
The policy, which is being underwritten by nine insurers, will allow Washington-based IFC to expand capacity under its Global Trade Finance Program, Marsh said. The program guarantees emerging market trade transactions.
The policy will protect IFC against the risk of default by a local bank client. It initially covers 50 banks in 30 countries. According to Marsh, this is the first time IFC has secured insurance to cover and expand its trade credit facilities.
Marsh said since the Global Trade Finance Program was launched in 2005, it has issued more than 10,000 guarantees totaling $14.3 billion to banks on trade-related payment obligations.
“IFC is playing a leadership role in driving global trade through the GTFP and creating lasting partnerships that are bringing economic growth and job creation to some of the world's poorest countries,” Georgina Baker, director, short-term finance at IFC, said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
“This new facility brokered by Marsh will help our partner banks to increase their business with small and midsize firms in emerging markets and enable trade that otherwise would not have happened,” she said.
(Reuters)—New rules to ensure no insurance company is too big to fail are set to be drawn up in time for the 2012 meeting of G20 leaders, although unlike banks they may not include capital surcharges, according to industry supervisors.