ICO and Garanti BBVA Sign Their First Agreement to Provide Up to $100 Million in Financing For Spanish Companies’ Projects in Türkiye

This agreement marks the beginning of ICO’s financing activities in Türkiye under the International Channel Facility, which will support projects with Spanish interests across the Eurasian continent, given Türkiye’s strategic geographic location connecting Europe and Asia.

This is the ninth agreement between ICO and the BBVA Group under the ICO International Channel Facility, which seeks to provide comprehensive support for the financing and liquidity needs of companies with Spanish interests. So far, ICO has signed two financing agreements with BBVA Colombia, three with BBVA Peru, and three with BBVA Mexico.

Garanti BBVA, part of the BBVA Group, is the second-largest private bank in Türkiye. The main goal of the agreement signed by the two institutions is to foster the development of sustainability and digitization projects to drive the green, digital transformation of the productive sector, facilitating the expansion of sustainable, innovative and technology-based companies. 

In addition to backing export and commercial business between Spain and Türkiye, this agreement expands the scope of the International Channel Facility to include companies based in the Turkish market with commercial and investment activities connected to Spain.

Informative session on the ICO International Channel Facility to support companies

To mark the signing of this financing agreement, an informative session was held for the business community at Garanti BBVA’s headquarters in Istanbul. The event featured opening remarks by Cristina Latorre, the Spanish Ambassador to Türkiye, Mahmut Akten, CEO of Garanti BBVA, and Fernando Salazar, Director General of International Corporate Finance, Intermediation and State Funds at ICO.

During the opening session, Sinem Edige, Head of BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) in Türkiye, underscored the significance of the collaboration with ICO in providing more favorable financing opportunities for companies with a strong international presence. She stated: “Through this agreement, we will offer new, ICO-backed funding opportunities to companies in Türkiye that have commercial or investment relations with Spain. In doing so, we not only strengthen the economic cooperation between the two countries but also contribute to our clients’ growth journey by providing an international source of financing. We see this partnership as an opportunity to leverage the global strength of the BBVA Group to create further value for the Turkish economy, and we are proud to be a trusted financial partner for foreign investors operating in our country.”

Meanwhile, Fernando Salazar, Director General of ICO, emphasized “the satisfaction it brings ICO to begin collaborating with Garanti BBVA through the ICO International Channel Facility. This step enables us to continue supporting Spanish enterprises in their international expansion, and to strengthen our presence in new markets beyond those that have already been established through this program, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, the U.S. and North Africa.”

Dozens of companies from the region attended the event, interested in learning more about the ICO International Channel Facility to support businesses. The event, organized in conjunction with ICEX, featured a roundtable discussion on the topic: “Strengthening the economic alliance between Spain and Türkiye: financing, collaboration and market entry for Spanish investors,” which focused on analyzing investment opportunities in the region.

ICO International Channel Facility

The ICO International Channel Facility is designed to boost the business activity and project financing of Spanish companies with an international presence in other markets through intermediation with local financial institutions.

This program transfers the operating scheme of ICO Facilities to multilateral, public development or private banks located abroad, simplifying application procedures for companies, and adding the benefit of the financial institution’s local market expertise. In addition, it enables Spanish companies with business in other markets to finance their projects in local currency in the countries where they are carried out.

ICO has mobilized €3.72 billion through the International Channel Facility, financing over 570 projects of Spanish companies in other markets, including Latin America and the Caribbean, the U.S., and North Africa.

ICO and the BBVA Group: a well-established relationship

The relationship between the BBVA Group and ICO in the framework of the International Channel Facility continues to grow stronger, with nine agreements worldwide designed to provide financial support for Spanish companies in their international expansion.

This latest agreement with ICO illustrates BBVA’s commitment to supporting its institutional clients, working in close collaboration to promote projects that foster economic development, sustainability and the international expansion of Spanish businesses.

To date, the ICO has signed two financing agreements with BBVA Colombia, three with BBVA Peru and three with BBVA Mexico. These agreements reinforce public-private partnerships, enhancing support for Spanish companies abroad.