39
companies about how they can receive opti-
mal loans. The funding of export activities
is, of course, also part of that. The so-called
speculative activities that form an important
part of the activity of American investment
banking rarely still occur in Belgium.
Regulations
But even the traditional investment banking
of the Belgian banks risks coming under pres-
sure. In the framework of the transposition of
Basel III, the European Commission proposes
that banks must reserve more capital for their
trade funding. This higher risk coverage will
probably make export loans more expensive.
During the Ecofin meeting of 2 May 2012, Fi-
nance Minister Steven Vanackere was willing
to admit that a more flexible risk weighting
for export loans may be determined. That way,
internationally oriented companies would
continue to enjoy affordable export fund-
ing. Together with Finance Minister Steven
Vanackere and Flemish Prime Minister Kris
Peeters, the sector develops many initiatives
to guarantee that.
Supporting initiatives
The Business Financing Platform, the dialogue
platform of the financial sector that aims to re-
inforce the confidence of entrepreneurs in the
sector, also works according to the principle
that export funding is required to maintain
our level of prosperity. The Platform consid-
ers therefore how the funding of exports can
be facilitated and which legislation may pose
a threat. With the new international banking
rules, this is definitely an important issue.
>
Lending
80%
is the share of exports
in the Belgian gross domestic
product (GDP).