Standard Chartered and CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, today announced an additional US$100m commitment to their existing master risk participation agreement. The increase in commitment will provide Standard Chartered with systemic liquidity to directly support trade lines to local banks across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
This new commitment comes at a particularly challenging time as the COVID-19 pandemic has created severe liquidity pressures for banks and businesses across Africa and South Asia, exacerbating the existing pressure on trade finance availability as international banks limit their risk appetite. In this context, development finance institution capital becomes even more critical to maintain trade flows and support economic growth.