CaixaBank has been named "Best Confirming Bank" for the second consecutive year in the Global Trade Finance Awards by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. These awards, now in their 10th iteration, recognise leading companies in terms of international financing solutions and foreign trade worldwide.
IFC, the top multilateral institution dedicated exclusively to the private sector, singled out CaixaBank with two awards for its efforts in confirming and financing import and export operations worldwide, under the framework of the Global Trade Finance Programme (GTFP).
During the period covered by the awards, between July 2020 and June 2021, CaixaBank closed operations totalling more than $1.52 billion, under the framework of financing programmes for foreign trade with multilateral institutions, which are managed by teams of Multilateral Institutions and IFI of the Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) and the International Banking (IB) units.
CaixaBank has also been acknowledged as "Best Confirming Bank in South Asia" at the same awards, recognising the effort of its representative office in India, which in 2021 celebrated its tenth anniversary with high market shares in documentary credits and guarantees managed between the region and Spain.
South Asia represented more than 22% of the total business volume of initiatives promoted by Multilateral Institutions for CaixaBank in the period. The bank closed operations for a total of $348 million in the region during this period.
CaixaBank and the World Bank Group
CaixaBank has been contributing to the IFC's GTFP for more than seven years, thanks to its steady commitment to boost foreign trade in emerging countries, and for offering its customers the best experience in the business financing process, both in countries where the institution has representative offices and branches, and in regions where it has no physical presence.
Furthermore, CaixaBank participates in other foreign trade programmes with institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and the Inter-American Development Bank, among others.
Through these programmes, CaixaBank is positioned as a pioneering institution in foreign trade finance solutions and is able to strengthen its relations with local banks. CaixaBank has a commercial relationship with more than 1,700 international banks to facilitate international operations of businesses and individuals all over the world.
CaixaBank, the bank chosen by companies
CaixaBank consolidates itself as a benchmark institution for businesses with specialised models, and has a network of 126 CaixaBank Empresas centres distributed across all the autonomous communities in Spain, with 1,200 highly-qualified employees and a solid reputation in business consulting.
Internationally, CaixaBank supports its business customers in 127 countries through its operational branches, representative offices and correspondent banks, in addition to its highly-specialised advisers. These advisers are specialists in financing and services, foreign trade and liquid assets, structured financing, tourism and real estate. They work in the Spanish branches offering the best advice for business transactions abroad. The institution provides services to both SMEs and micro-enterprises beginning their export activities, as well as large corporations and business groups handling more complex international projects.
CaixaBank's international presence
CaixaBank channels its international presence through its International Banking network of branches and representative offices worldwide and through cooperation agreements with first-rate international banks. The financial institution also owns Portugal's Banco BPI, the fourth largest financial institution operating in Portugal in terms of assets.
CaixaBank's CIB & IB network comprises of branches in Germany, France, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, all of them, with the exception of Portugal, authorised by the Spanish and local regulator to provide certain financial and banking services, such as short- and long-term financing, factoring, reverse factoring, and other similar activities within this kind of activity.
The institution also has 18 representative offices across 5 continents: Istanbul (Turkey) and Milan (Italy) in Europe; Dubai (United Arab Emirates), New Delhi (India), Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong (China), Sidney (Australia) and Singapore in the Middle East-Asia-Pacific; Algiers (Algeria), Cairo (Egypt) and Johannesburg (South Africa) in Africa; and Bogota (Colombia), Lima (Peru), New York (USA), Santiago de Chile (Chile), Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Toronto (Canada) in America. Lastly, it also has two Spanish Desk teams in Austria's Erste Bank (Vienna) and Mexico's Inbursa (Mexico City), to serve CaixaBank business customers in these markets.
About the IFC
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
