Several of Peru's largest banks have signed up for the government's new credit insurance for small- and medium-sized exporters (SMEs), according to an official from government-run development bank Cofide.
The government has set up a US$50m fund administered by Cofide, which will cover 50% of the value of the banks' credit lines for pre-shipment financing.
Local credit and bond insurer Compania de Seguros de Credito y Garantias (Secrex) will issue the insurance policies and a Secrex source confirmed that the company is fine-tuning the last details with a number of banks that have already signed up for the new credit insurance.
The Cofide official said he believes several other Peruvian banks are likely to follow the largest banks' example. Three to four other banks are likely to sign up with Secrex this year, he added.
