Continued good Norwegian export financing

The Ministry of Finance yesterday announced an extension of a special transitional rule for Eksportfinans ASA by one year. – The Ministry of Finance is working together with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to ensure a continued good export financing scheme for the Norwegian industry, says Minister of Finance Sigbjørn Johnsen.
 
Eksportfinans ASA is a Norwegian credit institution which administrates a public scheme for fixed-rate loans to buyers of Norwegian capital goods in line with OECD rules (CIRR- interest rates). Eksportfinans is subject to general Norwegian regulations for banks and other credit institutions. New rules on large exposures in the EU capital requirements directive (amendments to directive 2006/48/EC in directive 2009/111/EC) increase capital requirements, which create challenges for Eksportfinans’ operations.

In December 2010 the Ministry of Finance adopted a special transitional rule for Eksportfinans, which gives the institution the opportunity to apply the Norwegian rules on large exposures as they were per 15 December 2010 until 31 December 2011. The Ministry of Finance yesterday announced an extension of this transitional rule by one year, so that Eksportfinans may apply the previous Norwegian rules on large exposures until 31 December 2012. The Ministry of Finance has also made it clear that there is no basis, neither real or formal, to exempt Eksportfinans from the new rules on large exposures beyond this transitional rule.

– The Norwegian export industry’s conditions of competition are important for the Government. The publicly supported export loans under the Norwegian CIRR-scheme for export financing are, together with the guarantees issued by the Norwegian Garanti-instituttet for eksportkreditt (GIEK), important contributions to the competitiveness of the Norwegian export industry. The Government has strengthened these schemes in recent years, says Johnsen.

– The Government is prepared to ensure a continued good and competitive supply of export financing. Work is in progress to find a solution that aims to ensure that the special objectives of Eksportfinans’ operations may be continued. This may, if necessary, be undertaken by the Government. The work to find a solution is in collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, says Minister of Trade and Industry Trond Giske.