The addition of NIB Bank and Soneri Bank has increased the number of participant banks in the TFP to 13.
ADB said that the TFP provides finance and guarantees through banks to support trade transactions in developing countries.
The TFP focuses its resources on Asian countries most in need of trade finance support and therefore does not assume risk in relatively developed markets such as the People’s Republic of China, India, Malaysia, and Thailand.
In addition to general trade finance, the TFP offers guarantees to support imports of oil into Pakistan, which relies heavily on oil from overseas.
ADB private sector operations department director Robert van Zwieten said that by expanding the reach of the TFP in the Pakistan banking sector, the bank will help make trade finance available where necessary to an even wider array of firms, including small and medium-sized enterprises.
ADB Pakistan resident mission country director Rune Stroem said that further expanding TFP coverage in Pakistan will be a way to keep the country firmly on the road to sustainable economic recovery.
