Trafigura has closed a third financing facility covered by Germany’s export credit agency, linked to the “long-term supply” of critical metals to Europe’s largest economy.
The five-year, US$1.1bn loan was arranged by Commerzbank and benefits from a guarantee from Euler Hermes Aktiengesellschaft.
Trafigura and its banks closed two facilities covered by Euler Hermes in 2022, designed to help Germany secure supplies of gas and refined metals. The trader has also struck financing deals backed by export credit agencies (ECAs) in Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the US.
Trafigura did not immediately respond when asked about its supply obligations under the arrangement or the proportion of the loan covered by Euler Hermes.
“This facility further strengthens the successful collaboration between Trafigura and the Federal Republic of Germany,” said the company’s chief financial officer Stephen Jansma. “We are proud to play an important role in ensuring Germany’s access to critical metals through our extensive global network, built over 30 years of continuous activity in the metals industry.”
The other lenders on the deal are BBVA, Česká spořitelna, Erste Group Bank, ING, JP Morgan, KFW Ipex-Bank and Lloyds, which all acted as mandated lead arrangers. Commerzbank was the ECA co-ordinator, ECA agent and facility agent.
Export credit agencies in Europe typically had little interaction with global commodity traders before the Covid-19 pandemic, which triggered spikes in the prices of key industrial inputs such as gas and some metals.
Since 2022, Euler Hermes and its Italian equivalent, Sace, have struck a flurry of deals with traders such as Trafigura, Gunvor and Mercuria aimed at securing imports. Agencies in Saudia Arabia and the UAE have used similar structures as a way of boosting or diversifying exports.
