The first session of the meeting focused on the role and scope of the various guarantee products offered by the participating institutions. These two guarantees have been provided within the scope of the partial risk guarantee program that provides coverage for currency transfer and convertibility, breach of contract, and other political risks including expropriation of physical assets and related arbitrary and confiscatory government action. In neither case was a sovereign counter-guarantee required. One important issue confronting IDB in its use of guarantees is the need to reduce processing times below three months, while still meeting environmental requirements which are as stringent for guarantees as they are for loans. ADB offers both partial credit and partial risk guarantees, the former providing all-inclusive coverage and the latter covering sovereign risk.
Guarantees can be regional or local, issued in foreign exchange or local currency.
All guarantees must be provided in conjunction with an ADB loan. Pricing is on a cost basis and, unlike the IDB and the World Bank, the ADB does not allow for acceleration. Since 1988, the ADB has issued 10 guarantees, all partial credit. There is no department responsible for guarantees, rather each guarantee is tailored to the specific demands of a given project. EBRD also provides partial risk guarantees.