Definition: Officially supported export credit

Category: External debt - IMF

Loans or credits to finance the export of goods and services for which an official export credit agency in the creditor country provides guarantees, insurance, or direct financing. The financing element—as opposed to the guarantee/insurance element—can be extended by an exporter (supplier’s credit), or through a commercial bank in the form of trade-related credit provided either to the supplier, or to the importer (buyer’s credit). It can also be extended directly by an export credit agency of the exporting countries, usually in the form of medium-term finance as a supplement to resources of the private sector, and generally for export promotion for capital equipment and large-scale, medium-term projects. Under the rules of the Arrangement on Guidelines for Officially Supported Export Credits covering export credits with duration of two years or more, up to 85 percent of the export contract value can be officially supported. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/external_debt_guide_2003_EN.pdf#page=255