Increased demand for EKN guarantees
Interim Report Jan-Aug 2017: EKN guaranteed 1,433 transactions in the first eight months of the year, up more than 23 per cent on the same period last year. These guarantees had a combined value of SEK 22.8 billion, an increase of just over 4 per cent.
The higher number of transactions was due mainly to some large Swedish exporters having begun to use EKN's guarantees more systematically for smaller transactions to cover risks and thereby strengthen their capacity to take on more export deals.
“I’m delighted to see more and more companies finding that EKN's guarantees can increase their export capacity and so further their internationalisation and competitiveness”, says Anna-Karin Jatko, Director General of EKN.
It was primarily in the transport sector that the growth in transactions and volumes was generated, while the telecom industry accounted for the largest deals guaranteed during the period. The number of transactions guaranteed for small and medium-sized enterprises fell 2 per cent after rising for several consecutive years.
“For SMEs, the need for financing is the main reason for turning to EKN”, says Jatko. “Banks’ risk appetite has improved somewhat, but it’s still a challenge for many smaller businesses to secure export financing.”