EIFO is the national promotional bank (NPB) and official export credit agency (ECA) of Denmark combined in one financial institution. We operate within both areas internationally based on a strong cooperation with our sister organisations.

EIFO participates in the EU and the OECD on behalf of the Danish state to establish common international rules for export credit and trade policy. We work on issues of Danish interest and to ensure fair and equal terms for international trade so that the exporters can focus on competing on the basis the quality and the price of their products.

International cooperation allows us to expand our expertise and strengthen our network as well as helping us gain inspiration for new guarantee products for the benefit of Danish export companies.

A crucial forum for green transition

On 14 April 2021 Denmark joined the climate coalition Export Finance for Future, also called E3F. The participants have signed a statement of principles regarding cooperation within export financing in order to stop the financing of coal-related projects, create better financial incentives for green investments as well as initiating the discussions of how to phase out the financing of oil and gas projects. E3F is therefore a crucial forum for bringing focus on financial incentives and flexibility for ECAs as well as to help promoting green transition.

After the Danish government’s restriction of public financing of coal, oil and gas, E3F has become an important spokesperson for Denmark in terms of making other countries streamline their restrictions and hereby help to level the playing field in terms of competition for exporters. Participation in the climate coalition also allows us to actively strive to reduce global challenges such as climate changes. We also contribute to this significant goal through our efforts to modernise the regulatory framework for export financing, the so-called OECD Arrangement, as this helps us respond to the changes in the global economy.

Thought leadership

Together with other dedicated experts within the export credit area EIFO takes part in the work of developing new ideas and improving practice in international cross-border financing, hereby contributing with inspiration and innovation at European, OECD and global levels.

EU Export Finance Lab (ExFi Lab)

The ExFi Lab is an informal think tank consisting of a number of experienced experts within EU’s export financing from, among others, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and the EU Commission who meet for an informal exchange of views and ideas regarding international financing.

EKF initiated ExFi Lab in the autumn of 2018 to secure Denmark’s primary goal within export credit policy, i.e. establishing a level playing field for Danish exporters. EIFO is still in charge of the secretariat function of the think tank.

The aim of the ExFi Lab is to come up with new ideas as to how to secure competitive conditions for EU exporters. The mission of the think tank is to establish a center for new ideas and improved practices in international cross-border financing, thereby contributing with inspiration and innovation at European, OECD and global levels. One of the think tank’s primary goals is to establish and secure a global playing field which enables the continued use of the existing export financing programmes and the development of new programmes allowing substantial support.

In 2020, together with international colleagues, the ExFi Lab produced a White Paper with a series of recommendations to the EU about how to best ensure competitive financing conditions for EU’s exporters globally. The White Paper made an important contribution to the current discussions in the EU and the member states and has been used as a reference in connection with a number of high-level policy papers from, among others, the EU Commission.

As a follow-up to the White Paper from 2020 the ExFi Lab has prepared a supplementary paper in 2024 with the primary message that in transformational times there is still a need to strengthen the role of export credits within the EU and globally. The White Paper puts forward a number of recommendations to both the EU, the member states and the national export financing institutions as to how the EU can do even more to merge instruments, institutions, mandates etc. to ensure and strengthen the competitiveness of European companies.

Read the White Papers below and learn more about the work of
the think tank: LinkedIn.

Take Action or Fall Behind! April 2021 (Re-issue).
Better Together in Transformational Times. January 2024

Market report on trade and development financing

During the past few years the difference between trade and development financing has become less distinctive. At EIFO’s initiative, Offenburg University has prepared a study in cooperation with EIFO and several other ECAs which describes the market for trade- and development financing.

See the study here