Finnvera recognised in Finnish Excellence Reward 2005 competition

Finnvera plc has received recognition in the Finnish Excellence Reward 2005 competition in the category Recognised for Excellence in Europe . Excellence Finland grants recognition to a competitor that reaches at least 400 points in the competition. Finnvera plc took part in the Finnish Excellence Reward competition for the first time and reached the 551-600 point level in the category for large companies and business units.

The competition report identifies, for example, Finnvera goal setting, operations planning and implementation as all organised and realised systematically, utilising strategy and annual planning processes, as well as comprehensive result card and development discussion practices. The principle of continuous improvement is rooted as a practical operational culture in Finnvera and its development and maintenance is supported by versatile and practical tools. In addition, the judges stated that the company’s values are clearly directing operations on all levels of the organisation.

Finnvera’s CEO Pauli Heikkilä says that operations are developed further to improve customer service. Heikkilä refers to the report where the survey results for customer feedback show that Finnvera’s operations are at the level of good to excellent in domestic financing and export financing. Such development has been positive since 2001.

Finnvera plc is the Finnish state’s specialised financing company, whose purpose is to provide companies with better and more diverse financing opportunities through loans, guarantees and export credit guarantees. As a state-owned finance company Finnvera complements the offerings of the financial markets and promotes business life as well as regional development and export. Finnvera’s stock capital is 196.6 million euro, with a balance sheet total is 1,707 million euro. From Finnvera plc's outstanding commitments, on 30 June 2005 credits and guarantees represented approximately 2.2 billion euro and export credit guarantees and special guarantees approximately 4.8 billion euro. Finnvera has 27,100 customers, 16 regional offices in fifteen cities and 409 employees.

Additional information:
CEO Pauli Heikkilä, tel. +358 2046 07321
Quality Manager Päivi Tuohilampi, tel. +358 2046 07222