On 12 June 2012, the Commission announced it has approved a Finnish short-term export credit insurance scheme under EU State aid rules. The scheme satisfies the conditions set out in the Communication on short term export credit insurance, mainly due to the fact that it is limited to insurance cover currently not available on the private market and the rates charged are in line with private players’ pricing of similar risks. Under this scheme, the Finnish State agency, Finnvera plc, is to provide short-term export credit insurance to companies which are established in Finland and confronted with a temporary unavailability of cover in the private market. This cover will only be available for financially sound transactions. It is believed the scheme has sufficient safeguards in place to prevent adverse effects on competition. For example, there are currently two categories of risk which are inadequately covered by private insurers: (1) risk cover for exporting SMEs with total annual export turnover of a maximum of €2m; and (2) single risk cover where risk is associated to a single export transaction which is not covered under private insurers’ portfolio insurance, or where the cover is or includes pre-credit risk. Finnvera will only intervene in such areas where the private sector does not have the capacity to offer credit risk, and only exporters which have been denied cover by a private insurer can apply to Finnvera for export credit insurance. The Commission has authorised the scheme until 31 December 2012. Read more.