FIMbank subsidiary wins Best Forfaiting House Award

London Forfaiting Company Ltd (LFC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of FIMBank plc Malta, has been awarded the 2007 Best Forfaiting House Award by GTR, the trade finance magazine in UK.

London Forfaiting Company Limited was established in 1984 to specialise in the arrangement and provision of forfaiting and other trade-related finance products. In 2003, London Forfaiting Company Limited was acquired by FIMBank plc Malta, and today, as part of the FIMBank Group, LFC has grown to be the world leader in the forfaiting market.

Forfaiting is a highly flexible technique that allows an exporter to grant attractive credit terms to foreign buyers, without tying up cash flow or assuming the risks of possible late payment or default. Simultaneously, the exporter is fully protected against interest and/or currency rates moving unfavourably during the credit period.

LFC, which is headquartered in London and has offices in New York, Sao Paolo, Moscow, Istanbul and Singapore, has accentuated FIMBank's global reach in the trade finance and forfaiting business. This complements the bank's activities, adding expertise to its professionals of many nationalities and enhanced the group's global network, which also includes Mumbai, Dubai and Cairo.

Mrs Lütschg-Emmenegger, president of FIMBank Group, was pleased with the result, and said that much of this success is attributed to the professional service that LFC offers from all its international offices and to the relentless support that their back office based in Malta provides.

She also pointed out that although FIMBank Group has received many awards for its performance, the LFC awards are especially valued due to the specialisation and the excessive competition in the field of forfaiting. This is further proof of the quality of work that the group headquartered in Malta provides to its customers while continuously adding value to its shareholders.

Full financial disclosure and further details about FIMBank Group's product offer and global reach are available at www.fimbank.com and www.forfaiting.com.