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How does the
financial sector
stimulate
Belgian exports?
The funding of the export activities
of Belgian SMEs is a significant part
of the investment bank activities of
Belgian financial institutions.
Partially due to the smooth manner in
which financial institutions fund com-
panies, Belgian exports rose consider-
ably in 2011. In the future, however,
the financial sector will have to con-
stantly pay attention to the new inter-
national rules and the extent to which
they may impact export funding.
The Belgian economy is strongly dependent
on exports. According to figures of the Bel-
gian Foreign Trade Agency, a federal public
service, exports from Belgium amounted to
€343.4 billion in 2011.That is 10% more than
in 2010, which indicates that Belgian exports
barely suffered from the national debt crisis
of 2011. In 2011, Belgian foreign trade even
showed better results than before the bank
crisis of 2008.
That is certainly partially due to the fact
that financial institutions also continued to
smoothly carry out company funding dur-
ing the crisis. Since the crisis of 2008, the
volume of outstanding corporate loans has
risen by 19.8% from €97.1 to €116.2 billion.
The funding of the export activities of Belgian
SMEs is therefore also a significant part of the
investment bank activities of Belgian financial
institutions.
In Belgium, investment banking has little to
do with the so-called speculation that is so
heavily criticised. Belgian investment banks
look to collect money for large projects, bring
companies to the stock exchange or advise
“
If higher risk coverage
makes export loans more
expensive, this will affect
SMEs.”
Steven Vanackere in De Tijd of 3 May 2012
2.
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PROSPERITY