UniCredit Bulbank, part of the UniCredit Group, came out as a winner in the annual poll of Euromoney magazine on the best providers of trade finance services on the local markets in countries worldwide.

More than 1 500 leading international companies that use trade finance products took part in the poll.

Besides the top ranking in Bulgaria, certain banks from the UniCredit Group were rated the best in the field of trade finance also in another four CEE countries as well as in Italy.

The awards place the Group in the Top 5 providers of services in the field of trade finance worldwide, a significant improvement over last year.

The strong global network, the risk management and knowledge on the developing markets were the key drivers, which led to excellent poll results of UniCredit in the following categories: trade documentation, Supply Chain Finance, innovation and structured trade finance.

UniCredit Bulbank's product line range includes documentary letters of credit and their related services such as L/C confirmation and redemption of receivables, bank guarantees, documentary and net collections.

The bank says it relies on its experience and good reputation abroad, as well as the highly developed network of correspondent banks across the world.

"Trade finance products provide a possibility for mitigating the risks related to external trade transactions and they can be a source of liquidity. Their advantages are most notable when entering new, risk markets or in periods of increased economic insecurity, like the period we are currently in.", Mladen Zapryanov, Head of Global Transaction Banking at UniCredit Bulbank, commented.