Amman – Jordan (September 2012): INVESTBANK signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the agreement was signed by Mr. Muntaser Dawwas, INVESTBANKS’s CEO, and Mr. Francis Malige, EBRD’s Director for Financial Institutions, with the attendance of the Central Bank of Jordan Deputy Governor Dr. Maher Sheikh Hasan, and the Association of Banks in Jordan General Manager, Dr. Adli Kandah, in a signing ceremony followed by a cocktail reception that took place at INVESTBANK’s Headquarter located in Al-Shmeisani.

The EBRD is launching its investments in Jordan by partnering with INVESTBANK to help Jordanian companies engage more widely in international trade so that they can grow further and contribute to the country’s economic development.

The EBRD has signed an agreement with INVESTBANK establishing a US$ 30 million trade finance line to support international trade transactions with tenors of up to 3 years. For intra-regional transactions with EBRD countries of operations, these tenors will go up to 5 years.

The project is the EBRD’s first in Jordan and the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region. It is an extension of the Bank’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP), which makes it easier for companies to sell their products abroad and to buy the equipment they need in order to grow from foreign suppliers.

Under the agreement with INVESTBANK, the EBRD will issue guarantees for international trade transactions conducted by the Jordanian bank. INVESTBANK will benefit from the TFP programme’s unique technical skills transfer initiative and its extensive trade network. It will also enhance its own trade finance products by providing longer maturities.

INVESTBANK was established in 1982 and has grown to be a boutique bank catering to the corporate and mid-market corporations as well as the upper retail group.  It offers a full range of innovative products and services along with comprehensive packages that are built around their clients’ needs. In addition to this, INVESTBANK’s subsidiaries offer brokerage, supply chain financing and logistics as well as leasing products and services.

Commenting on this partnership, INVESTBANK’s CEO Muntaser Dawwas said: “Through this agreement, INVESTBANK aspires to better serve the Jordanian business and trade community by focusing on economic innovations and facilitating the procedures of financing international trade”.

“These range from supporting and funding import and export companies, to offering comprehensive banking services and innovative solutions by utilizing the latest technologies to address our clients’ needs,” Mr Dawwas added.

Francis Malige, EBRD Director for Financial Institutions, said: “The inclusion of INVESTBANK in the TFP network will allow the bank to expand its correspondent network and advance working relationships in trade finance worldwide. EBRD was very impressed with the professionalism of INVESTBANK’s transaction team engaged on this project.”

Launched in 1999, the Trade Facilitation Programme aims to promote foreign trade to, from and among the EBRD’s countries of operations. Through the programme, the EBRD provides guarantees to international confirming banks and short-term loans to selected banks and factoring companies for on-lending to local exporters, importers and distributors.

The TFP programme currently includes over 100 participating banks in 20 countries of operations with limits exceeding €2 billion in total, as well as more than 800 confirming banks throughout the world.