MOU between Ex-Im Bank and Attijariwafa bank

At the occasion of KING MOHAMMED VI’s visit to Washington, Ms. Claudia Slacik, Chief Banking Officer and Senior Vice- President of Export Finance of US Ex-Im Bank, and Mr. Mohamed El Kettani, Chairman and CEO of Attijariwafa bank have signed on Tuesday November 21st 2013, a Memorandum Of Understanding between the two institutions.   The main objective of this agreement is to promote and develop trade and investment between Attijariwafa bank‘s countries of presence and the United States of America, with the support of Ex-Im Bank. The main areas of cooperation covered are: 1. Institutional ties strengthening, through joint events ( seminars, workshops, exchange programs) with a focus on better understanding of both parties credit processes 2. Exchange of general information and personnel, through regular meetings aimed at benefitting from each other’s expertise and resources 3. Financing and promoting fields with strong potential , such as : • “Power Africa”: both parties commit to finance projects including those in the power sector • SMEs: both parties fully recognize the role played by SMEs in economic growth, technological innovation and job creation. Both parties will share best practices and information aimed at providing financing for SMEs • Loan Guarantees and Export Credit Insurance: Ex-Im Bank will consider providing a comprehensive guarantee or export insurance on behalf of lenders or US exporters extending credit to Moroccan or other North , West or Central African buyers of US goods and services on the basis of terms and conditions acceptable to Ex-Im Bank 4. Project and aircraft financing 5. Other activities of mutual interest This MOU provides Attijariwafa bank’s customers with the opportunity to deepen trade with US counterparts and secure their sources of supplies. It allows Ex-Im Bank‘s clients to find local support in North Africa, West Africa (WAEMU Region) and Central Africa (EMCCA Region) through Attijariwafa bank’s subsidiaries in all countries of presence . This MOU broadly opens new promising perspectives to African and US operators in order to develop their trade flow. ABOUT Ex-Im Bank: Ex-Im Bank is an independent U.S. Government agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services. For more information, visit www.exim.gov. ABOUT Attijariwafa bank: Attijariwafa bank is a leading banking and financial Group in North Africa, WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union) and EMCCA (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa). In addition to its banking activity, the Group provides a wide range of financial services through several subsidiaries: insurance, mortgage, consumer credit, fast transfers, leasing, factoring, stock brokerage, asset management, M&A and market advisory… Attijariwafa bank is based in Morocco and operates in 22 other countries: in Africa (North Africa (Mauritania and Tunisia) WAEMU (Burkina-Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger and Senegal) and EMCCA (Cameroun, Congo, Gabon and Togo)) and in Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and Spain) through majority-controlled fully-licensed local banks and their subsidiaries, and in Dubai, London, Riyadh and Tripoli through representative offices. Le Groupe Attijariwafa bank est aussi présent à travers des bureaux de représentation : Dubaï, Londres, Riyadh et Tripoli.