The international report highlights Finnvera's export financing expertise, responsible financing processes and customer orientation

One of Finnvera's strategic goals is: We are a stable export promoter. According to the more detailed definition we offer a competitive export financing system for Finnish companies. The goal is to be at the level of key competitor countries in terms of risk-taking and pricing, and to ensure an excellent customer experience with industry expertise and predictability. Finnvera commissioned actoRx, an international consulting group specialising in the export financing market, to survey Finnvera's competitiveness factors in relation to export guarantee institutions and export creditors in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden.

Finnvera guarantees export credits granted by commercial banks to buyer customers of export companies. Sometimes the credit comes from Finnvera's subsidiary Finnish Export Credit Ltd, whose risk is guaranteed by the parent company Finnvera.

In practice, every industrialised country has an export guarantee organisation similar to Finnvera, and within the OECD export credit framework, the institutions have agreed on common minimum conditions for financing exports. However, outside the system, for example, China supports its exports much more generously, which challenges rule-based export financing.

“Our main reference organisations have traditionally been Swedish and German export guarantee institutions, as Finns often compete with Swedish and German companies for export transactions. We also often cooperate with guarantee institutions of other countries and do not feel that we are competitors. However, it is true that buyers compare the terms of financing offered in connection with export trade, some of which are determined by the export guarantee institution, such as Finnvera, and some by the bank that arranges the credit”, says Jussi Haarasilta, Finnvera's Executive Vice President responsible for large corporate’s export financing.

As of February 2023, Finnvera has been able to grant export credits directly also for export transactions amounting less than EUR 20 million. The motivation was precisely the need to ensure competitive export financing, so that Finnish companies have the same financing tools at their disposal, as companies in competitor countries.

Customer orientation and expertise recognised

The report states that Finnvera is very customer-oriented and proactively supports Finnish companies - although ECAs in Denmark, Sweden and Italy are even more progressive in their trade promotion.

“The implementation method varies from country to country, and it has been influenced by the structure of each country's export industry and the challenges sought to be solved. In some countries, the operation is part of the state administration, in others as a state-owned company, such as in Finland. In some countries, the government procures services from a private company. It is worth seeking ideas from other countries, but each country must find a solution most suitable for their own needs.”

“We are happy to see that this report also gives recognition to our competence and expertise in promoting and cooperation of export deals. We have received recognition before, for example, as TXF's ECA of the year, and this has also been noticed in our customer satisfaction surveys”, says Haarasilta.

Executive Vice President Jussi Haarasilta.

Read also:

Take a look at the summary of key results: Klasen, Vassard et. al. Report on Competitiveness. Summary of Key Results (pdf)

The survey was carried out by the partners of actoRx, Professor Andreas Klasen and Jan Vassard. Klasen works as a professor of international business at the University of Offenburg in Germany and has studied international trade and export financing.

In addition to export guarantee institutions, interviews were conducted with representatives of international banks. Although the group of interviewees is quite small, there is a comprehensive sample of European export financiers with whom Finnvera is compared and with whom we also cooperate.