§ Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what rate of return will be expected on the trading fund of the Export Credits Guarantee Department; what proportion of guarantees by value she expects it to cover; and if she will make a statement. [104427]
§ Ms HewittECGD and HM Treasury are currently working on the policy and objectives, financial and regulatory frameworks and operational details of the ECGD Trading Fund. The aim is to complete this work by the summer recess. There has therefore been no decision yet as to the rate of return that the ECGD Trading Fund will be expected to generate, but the Government's policy remains that ECGD's premium rates will not be increased to pay a return on capital.
The Trading Fund will cover all guarantees issued by ECGD, with the exception of instances where guarantees are issued under Ministerial Instruction, used only rarely in the past. The Government have made a firm commitment that ECGD will continue to support broadly the same amount of business as it does now, but given that the precise volume of ECGD's future business, it is not possible to divide the business in the way the hon. Member has requested.