FimBank announces participation in joint venture in Brazil

FimBank, the Malta-based trade finance bank, has reached an agreement with the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Brazilian bank Bicbanco, to invest in a new factoring joint venture in Brazil.

FimBank and Bicbanco will each acquire a 40 per cent stake in this company while the IFC will acquire the remaining 20 per cent. Brasilfactors will be offering domestic and cross border factoring and complementary services to Brazilian corporates and SMEs.

The Brazilian economy is one of the fastest growing in the world but SMEs in this country generally have limited access to funding and sophisticated trade solutions. Brasilfactors aims to help fill this gap with short-term funding against receivables and solutions such as risk protection and collection services for both domestic and export transactions.

FimBank president Margrith Lütschg-Emmenegger said: “FimBank’s expansion to Brazil is a significant step in our strategic growth. We expect Brasilfactors to develop rapidly and become a significant player in a market which offers excellent opportunities. The news of the Brazilian joint venture agreement follows on FimBank’s official launch of India Factoring, the Bank’s factoring joint venture based in India, last January.”

The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilising private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Founded in 1938, Bicbanco is one of the oldest private-sector banks in Brazil. Controlled by the Bezerra de Menezes financial group since its foundation, it became a nation-wide bank during the 1980s. Bicbanco focuses on credit operations to the middle market segment and is ranked as the fifth largest private capital national bank in the country.

FimBank is a leading provider of trade finance and factoring solutions. Headquartered in Malta, its strategy is to further strengthen its global presence, with a focus on emerging markets, and enhancing the product range on offer, namely trade finance, structured commodity finance, factoring and forfaiting. The bank has offices in Malta, London and Dubai, and through its wholly-owned subsidiary London Forfaiting Company, is present in a number of important financial centres.