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Sterling Bank has secured a $40 million facility from the Turkey Export-Import Bank, as part of efforts to strengthen foothold on international trade financing and investments among individuals and institutions across the world.
The facility was granted following the conclusion of a due diligence on the bank, which affirmed it as a reputable financial institution with the capacity to meet its obligations and a worthy partner through which funds could be brought into the country for trade finance.
The development also supported the rating of the financial institution by Moody’s, which assigned a first-time local and foreign currency issuer and deposit ratings of B2 with a stable outlook to it.
The rating, according to the agency, reflected the bank’s solid asset quality metrics and provision coverage, improvements to its Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and risk management processes, as well as its high liquidity buffers and a solid deposit funding base.
In a statement from the bank at the weekend, the facility would be used to support trade businesses and projects with Turkish origin.
With this development, members of the Turkish business community in Nigeria, as well as Nigerian businessmen and women doing business with Turkish partners, will have easy access to finance for their businesses, especially in the importation of raw materials for production, which would also serve as a catalyst for economic development of the country.
Sterling Bank noted that the partnership with Turkey EXIM Bank may have been informed by its role in international finance, its reputation as a stable and reliable financial institution and its capacity to support both local and international institutions.
The Turkey EXIM Bank is a fully state-owned bank acting as the Turkish government’s major export incentive instrument.
Turkey’s EXIM Bank, like its counterpart in Nigeria, has main objectives of promoting Turkish exports through diversification of exported goods and services by increasing the share of the country’s exporters in international trade.
