Exporting Corruption:
How Rich Country Export Credit Agencies Facilitate Corruption in the Global South

by The Corner House

first published 1 May 2006

Everything you didn't want to know about export credit agencies, tried to ask -- and couldn't find on this website . . . until now.

  • What are export credit agencies (ECAs)?

  • What is the rationale for their existence?

  • How economically substantial are ECAs?

  • Would multinationals make the same investments in the absence of ECA support?

  • Do ECAs provide funds to cover the cost of bribes?

  • Do ECAs provide insurance for companies engaged in corrupt activity?

  • How do ECAs employ their political muscle against developing countries?

  • Is it fair to blame ECAs for their entanglement with corruption?

  • Are there meaningful differences among ECAs in terms of their policies on corruption?

  • What do ECAs demand from importing countries by way of guarantees?

  • How significant is developing country debt related to ECA-backed deals?

  • How much of this debt was siphoned off in corrupt deals?

  • Are ECA policies and practices related to corruption improving?

  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of those policies and practices?

  • What are the best solutions to disentangle ECAs from corrupt practices?

  • Is debarment politically feasible?

  • Should ECAs be shut down and insurance left to the private sector?

These questions are all answered in the May/June 2006 issue of Multinational Monitor, which focuses on corruption and which includes an interview with The Corner House.

Other articles on corruption in the issue include:

"Combating the Culture of Corruption, Or Not" by Charlie Cray

"Oil and Violence in Sudan: Drilling, Poverty and Death in Upper Nile State" by Egbert Wesselink and Evelien Weller

"Searching for Transparency: Corruption and the Global Economy" by David Nussbaum