Norway has been a member of the WTO since its formation in 1995. The WTO has a separate agreement on goods subsidies called the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM). According to the ASCM, states and public bodies may not provide export-dependent financial contributions that confer an advantage on the recipient. Cheap export credits and export credit guarantees are explicitly mentioned in the list of prohibited subsidies, cf. annex 1, letters k and j. The ASCM also stipulates that export credits are permitted as long as they comply with the conditions of the OECD-affiliated agreement on publicly supported export credits (see below). If anyone believes a prohibited subsidy has been given, the issue may be addressed in the WTO’s dispute-resolution system.

See the ASCM (PDF) here. 

The EEA Agreement’s government support rules are stricter and more detailed than the WTO rules. The starting point is that all competition-distorting government support to industry within the EU/EEA is prohibited, but there are some exceptions. When the public sector provides guarantees on market-based terms, the guarantees are not counted as government support. There are clear guidelines defining market-based terms in the context of state guarantees. These do not apply to export credit guarantees (which are regulated by the OECD, see below), but when Eksfin issues a building loan guarantee, for example, it does so in accordance with the guidelines. This reduces the guarantee recipient’s risk of being confronted with demands to repay illegal support. The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) monitors Norway’s and the other members’ compliance with the EEA Agreement.

ESA’s guidelines

“Arrangement” – regulates guarantee terms and conditions

The Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits states general principles for public, long-term export financing as well as specifically permitted guarantee conditions. Some important general principles are that guarantees are to be priced according to the risk of loss and that the guarantee period must correspond in length to the lifetime of the financed product. The agreement specifically regulates minimum prices (premiums), repayment profiles, periods, equity requirements, degrees of cover, financing of local content, etc. The agreement also specifies the conditions that make it possible to deviate from the standard terms. For example, some latitude is permitted to match another ECA’s financing offer. In addition, exports in certain sectors, such as renewable energy, can be favoured with better-than-standard financing terms. For more information on specific terms and conditions, please look up the agreement itself. There, the common principles and standard sets of rules are shown first, followed by separate sets of rules for ships, nuclear power plants, aircraft, renewable energy/climate measures, railways, coal-fired power plants and project financing.

See the OECD Arrangement.

“Common Approaches” – to social and environmental sustainability assessments

Through the Common Approaches (i.e. Recommendation of the Council on Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence), last updated in 2015, ECAs in the OECD have developed common guidelines for surveying and assessing environmental and social risks in individual cases. The guidelines are based on recognised international conventions and recommendations from the UN and OECD that relate to the protection of human rights, employee rights, the environment and the climate.

Se the OECD’s Common Approaches.

“Recommendation” – on corruption risk

In 2006, the ECAs in the OECD agreed on common measures to estimate the risk of, and counteract, corruption in the cases we finance. This is called the “Recommendation”, i.e. the OECD Council Recommendation on Bribery and Officially Supported Export Credits. Read more about anti-corruption.

Read more at the OECD website.

S​L Agreement – on sustainable lending to poor, debt-ridden countries

Through the SL Agreement, last revised in 2016, the ECAs in the OECD undertake a shared responsibility for helping ensure that low-income countries do not take up more in loans they can manage to bear in the long term. The agreement only applies to loans where the state is responsible for repayment, i.e. loans to public enterprises and/or loans with a special state guarantee. The shared responsibility obligates the ECAs to check IMF/World Bank assessments of a country’s debt (Debt Sustainability Analysis, or DSA), refrain from financing unproductive projects, and respect any debt ceilings. ECAs are urged to ask the country’s authorities for confirmation that the project in question is in accordance with their own lending and development plans.

See the SL Agreement.
See the IMF DSA.

MNE Guidelines – OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises

The MNE Guidelines are guidelines for responsible/ethical business operations in multinational enterprises (MNEs). They cover 46 countries (including 12 non-OECD countries). The guidelines are sector-independent and deal with everything from human and employee rights to the environment, consumer interests, corruption, technology, competition and taxation. In addition to complying with the MNE Guidelines itself, Eksfin urges its customers to do so. Although compliance with the guidelines is voluntary for companies, breaches can be reported to a national, independent complaints body, called a National Contact Point (NCP). From 2000 to 2015, some 320 complaints in total were reported to the NCPs.

See the MNE guidelines.
See the NCP. 

The OECD’s export credit groups (ECG and Participants)

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) consists of 35 relatively rich countries and is best known for its statistics and comparisons among member countries on topics including development aid efforts and school pupil performance (PISA surveys). The OECD also prepares export credit statistics dealing with topics such as the ECAs’ business volumes, losses, products and trends, as well as financing risks in individual countries. These statistics are reviewed at meetings of the OECD’s export credit groups, which Eksfin attends together with Export Credit Norway and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. In these groups, we also discuss the implementation and further development of applicable OECD rules and recommendations. To support this work and encourage ECAs to learn from one another, there are also separate expert groups focusing on pricing and social responsibility.

More information on the work in the OECD export credit groups can be found here. 

The Berne Union was established in 1934 to promote international acceptance of good, sound principles for the issuance of export credit and investment guarantees. Today, the Berne Union is the world’s leading organisation for international credit insurers – both private and public. In 2014, the organisation’s 80 members insured more than 10% of world trade. Eksfin attends regular meetings twice a year, in addition to expert meetings on various topics. Through these meetings and its membership, Eksfin has access to the organisation’s statistics and benchmarking, and can exchange experience with colleagues worldwide.

Read more about the Berne Union here

Eksfin has especially close collaboration with the other Nordic ECAs, with annual meetings at different levels.

Read more at:

> EKN (Sweden).
> EIFO (Denmark).
> Finnvera (Finland).

Under the leadership of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eksfin participates in the Paris Club. This is an informal forum where 21 creditor countries, all with major exposure to other states, discuss topics related to national debt. The forum works to find long-term, sustainable solutions for countries with debt problems, and in individual cases this may entail debt forgiveness. The Paris Club has no fixed rules but is governed by some guiding principles: solidarity between creditors, consensus among creditors, information sharing, case-by-case decision-making, conditionality (debt forgiveness by the club’s members requires the debtor to comply with an IMF programme) and equal treatment of creditors.

Read more about Norway’s policies on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website

Eksfin helps to realise good projects in poor countries by assessing the project’s positive impact on development and ensuring the project does not conflict with Norway’s aid policy.

Eksfin’s normal credit-assessment procedure ensures that cases receiving guarantee offers have been assessed as being on a solid foundation with regard to ability to deliver, earnings and debt-service capacity. As regards sales to poor countries, where the state may have less administrative capacity, Eksfin will be particularly cautious and ensure that the transaction is justifiable from a development viewpoint.

The OECD has prepared guidelines for use when considering new credit to countries with a limited capacity to raise new loans. The result, in brief, is that Eksfin will only provide a guarantee if the project is in accordance with the recipient country’s economic and social strategy. Eksfin will also ensure that the project does not conflict with the country’s obligations to the IMF and World Bank. Such restrictions apply to around 60 countries and only relate to transactions with public-sector buyers or state-owned companies and transactions where there is a state counter-guarantee.

Eksfin complies with the OECD’s sustainable lending principles. These rules include a requirement that export loans to certain countries must contain a gift element (a minimum grant element for external financing). Some countries that are entitled to a gift element can nonetheless raise commercial loans, but only within certain limits. Since Norway does not offer export loans with a gift element, so-called tied aid, Eksfin can only offer guarantees if the IMF agreements allow limited commercial loans.

The list of countries covered by the sustainable lending rules can be found here.