National Australia Bank (NAB) and the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) have signed a Master Working capital Agreement that will assist Australian exports gain ready access to additional working capital to finance export contracts.

 

Under the agreement, the EFIC will provide a guarantee to NAB, meaning the bank will be able to lend to its SME customers the additional working capital they need to build their international business growth.

 

NAB's Executive General Manager, Working Capital Services, David Gall said NAB had been working with EFIC for over 20 years in order to facilitate and support businesses expanding into offshore markets.

 

"International expansion is an important part of many SME's growth aspirations, which is why we're focussed on developing solutions to support our customer’s working capital and funding needs”.

 

Access to working capital is an all-too-common barrier faced by many SMEs. As the Australian Government’s export credit agency, EFIC helps Australian exporters to overcome financial barriers.

 

“Some of the exporters EFIC has supported have really innovative products and incredible business acumen, but their business growth has put pressure on their finances and the value of their assets is insufficient to enable the lender to provide additional finance,” said EFIC’s Executive Director, SME and Mid-Market, Stuart Neilson.

 

“EFIC guarantees issued under this agreement with NAB can help Australian businesses to finance their export contracts and keep growing their businesses internationally.”