Export stakeholders

Sfil, a performing set-up to enhance French exports competitiveness

Since May 2015, Sfil has refinanced major export credit agreements. This activity authorized by the European Commission, was given to Sfil by French State to improve French exports competitiveness.

News
- French export credit refinancing scheme 2021
  15 October, 2021
  
  Download the file
Key figures

30

banks partners

31

concluded deals

17,9 B€

closed refinancing

Our key figures

Sfil's export credit set-up:
the combination of 3 expertizes for the benefit of the borrower

– Structuration: top arranging banks selected by the borrower via a competitive process
– Credit risk: Bpifrance Assurance Export insurance policy with the guarantee of the French Sovereign
– Liquidity: additional capacity brought by Sfil at very competitive terms
Sfil : a booster to improve competitiveness

Benefits of Sfil set-up

The set-up contributes to improve the quality of French export offer in terms of:

Amount

We provide liquidity in addition to banking capacities without any limit on amount per project
3 billion EUR expected average annual contribution

Maturity

We intervene on maturities up to 30 years, including:
1) construction period
2) amortization period
(on the basis of OECD Arrangement limits)

Cost

The impact on the prices is due to:
1) Sfil’s exceptional access to international capital markets
2) the increase in number and volume of competitive offers from the banks

Without Sfil, the biggest French shipyard could not simultaneously implement 4 billion euros commercial contracts

Intervention conditions

Sfil’s intervention is aimed at projects under negotiation:

From all sectors and all countries
Amounting to 70 million euros and above
Financing France based exporting companies and therefore eligible to Bpifrance Assurance Export’s credit insurance
Meeting the European Commission’s requirements

For each project, Sfil has to comply with the European Union’s requirements, including:

Transferring a portion of the credit to Sfil must be carried out within 3 months following the export credit signature.
The borrower or exporter must state how many banks were consulted for the transaction.

1^st case: the borrower or exporter consults banks in order to select the pool of initial lenders
The number of banks consulted to be initial lenders must reach (number of banks refinanced by Sfil + 1) for nuclear, defense or projects above 500 million euros or (number of banks refinanced by Sfil + 2) for all other projects.

2^nd case: the borrower or exporter consults banks in order to select the arranging bank(s) to syndicate the loan
The number of banks consulted to arrange and syndicate the loan must reach (number of arranging banks + 1) for nuclear, defense or projects above 500 million euros or (number of arranging banks + 2) for all other projects.

Specific case with a unique lender: the number of banks consulted by the exporter or the borrower for that project must reach 2 for nuclear, defense or projects above 500 million euros or 3 for all other projects.
More details on: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/cases/257147/257147_1665498_189_2.pdf (page 21 – article 1.4)