Credits supported by BGK and KUKE also attractive for importers from developed markets
The solutions supporting Polish exports jointly offered by KUKE and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) have also proved attractive for importers from developed countries, giving them and their banks access to financing on even better terms than those available in their home markets. A Norwegian shipowner contracting ferries worth PLN 350 million from a Polish shipyard has recently benefited from such a solution.
At the end of 2018, KUKE provided insurance cover for receivables under the credit granted by DNB Bank ASA from Norway to its ferry operator. The contracts include the purchase of four passenger and car ferries from the Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. shipyard in Gdansk, which will operate on routes between Norwegian ports. The total value of receivables insured by KUKE amount to over NOK 770 million, equivalent to approx. PLN 350 million. The insurance cover period for each ferry is 12 years.
The latest transaction shows that the instrument offered jointly by KUKE and BGK is a financially highly attractive option also for companies and their banks from Western Europe where interest rates have stayed at a record low. This is also an excellent example of how national institutions set up to support Polish exports do not limit themselves to handling transactions with emerging markets which are viewed as being more risky. Thus, we can see a growing interest in the use of this financing scheme by other Western European banks intending to lend money to their clients to buy goods or services from Polish companies, Piotr Maciaszek, Head of Medium- and Long-term Business at KUKE, explained.
This instrument, named the DOKE Programme, guarantees fixed interest rates on export credits with repayment terms of at least two years, granted to buyers by domestic or foreign banks.
The system consists in a reciprocal settlement mechanism of interest rate differences, thus, subsidies and surpluses, between BGK and the bank granting the credit for the purchase of goods or services from a Polish supplier. In so doing, a commercial bank can offer its client a Commercial Interest Reference Rate (CIRR) and, at the same time, earn revenues calculated in accordance with a variable interest rate, e.g., LIBOR or EURIBOR, Anna Babiarz, Director of the Transaction Banking Department at BGK, added.
CIRR rates have been very attractive over the last few months, for instance, CIRR for the period from 15 February to 14 March 2019 for credits denominated in euro was 0.46% for 5-year credits and 0.94% for credits with a term of over 8.5 years. Also, the opportunity for the borrower to secure a fixed interest rate for the entire credit period (e.g. for 12 years) is a beneficial stabilising factor for a foreign importer planning to purchase capital goods from a Polish exporter.
The support provided by the state offers Polish exporters the chance to compete on the global market under conditions similar to those that companies based in other OECD member countries benefit from. This allows them to expand their businesses to new markets and present a more attractive business offer. In order to be eligible for the DOKE Programme, export credits must be insured by KUKE.