EKN can now insure export transactions within the EU

“Over 80 per cent of Sweden’s exports are to the EU, Norway and North America. Therefore, it is crucial for Sweden to be able to maintain these trading flows,” says Anna-Karin Jatko, Director General of EKN.

The Covid-19 crisis has caused difficulties for Swedish exporters to insure payment risk with private sector credit insurers. Following the EU’s decision, EKN is now able to assist exporters by temporarily complementing the private sector credit insurance market.

“EKN is taking this step to ensure that exporters have swift access to crucial export credit guarantees, thereby enabling business to be transacted,” says Anna-Karin Jatko, adding, “Preserving trade in the internal market is another pressing issue.”

Previously, the EU’s competition rules prohibited government export credit agencies, such as EKN, from competing with private sector credit insurers. However, the private sector is experiencing difficulties in meeting exporters’ needs during this ongoing crisis and therefore, state agencies are temporarily permitted to insure these transactions. This encompasses credit periods of less than two years for transactions within the EU and to high-income countries such as Norway and the USA.

From Monday, 20 April, EKN expanded its export support to these markets.

EKN’s crisis measures:

Expanding export credit guarantees within the EU and to high-income countries to complement the private sector.

• Reducing the banks’ excess to thereby improve credit availability for exporters and their suppliers.
• Working capital credit guarantees to large companies.
• Suppliers to large companies can receive swifter payment when EKN insures the banks’ financing.
• Swifter decisions on deferred payments.