flows to emerging economies. as regards the medium and long term, the nature and functioning of transactions differ from those for short - term transactions. the financial services provided by banks for longer - dated terms are, essentially, financing and the extension of guarantees and bonds needed to participate in international tender procedures. on many occasions these are syndicated operations, or operations performed by several banks from various countries. we should highlight here the role played by export credit companies. this activity is subject to the rules set under the oecd arrangement on officially supported export credits, or the oecd consensus, as it is usually called. the oecd consensus the oecd consensus, signed in 1976, has regulatory status in the european union and seeks to prevent financial facilities granted by a state to an exporter from distorting bis central bankers ’ speeches competition and giving an exporter an unfair advantage against competitors from other countries. the consensus also works on the assumption that official support is warranted only if there is a “ market failing ” that prevents the private sector from properly meeting its task as a financier. the consensus sets common rules for exports in the medium and long term, understanding as such terms over two years, and specifies that official support may take the form of either direct public financing of the export, or the underwriting by the public sector of the refund of the export financing granted by private institutions. in spain, cesce ( spanish export credit insurance agency ) pursues its activity on behalf the state, complementing that of the banking system. among its operations, what affords the greatest value added is the coverage of credit risk arising from a spanish export, of a relatively high amount, at a term of over two years, habitually financed by a bank. such coverage is the norm for exports towards countries with appreciable risk and in transactions which, frequently, have the sovereign guarantee of the importing country. cesce also provides underwriting on the state ’ s behalf for the political risks associated with exports ( the main such risk being default by the sovereign or by the institutions backed by the sovereign ), except in operations at less than two years in eu and oecd countries, where it is considered that there is a sufficiently developed private underwriting market ; it also extends guarantees and bonds for participating in international tender procedures and projects. from 1998 to 2007 there was a strong expansion in international banking activity in financing for spanish companies ’ international activity. banks took on a relevant

historical pattern. large spanish companies initially directed their foreign investment towards latin america, diversifying subsequently towards the european union. currently, these two areas account for 50 % and 30 %, respectively, of total spanish foreign direct investment in the rest of the world. direct investment flows into spain, after having been interrupted at the height of the euro area financial market tensions in 2012, are regaining their pre - crisis levels. the gains in competitiveness and the reforms undertaken have no doubt increased the attractiveness of our economy to investors. the headway made in the internationalisation of the economy against a particularly difficult background underscores the competitive capacity of part of the spanish productive system. however, despite progress in recent years, spain ’ s share in some potentially very dynamic markets is still low and faces major challenges, in a world of growing competitive pressures and the globalisation of production channels. nor should it be forgotten that our economy ’ s dependence on energy and capital goods imports and the high net payment of income to the rest of the world, as a result of high external indebtedness, are a permanent constraint as regards achieving the surpluses on current and capital account that are needed to deleverage our economy. institutions and financial policy for the internationalisation of spanish companies internationalisation calls for a series of financial services in which the banking industry plays a central role. these services can be grouped into two major categories : operations geared to mitigating the risk of transactions, namely guarantees and insurance ; and those geared to providing liquidity or financing to companies. on the data available, regarding the importance of banks in financing international trade, banks participate directly in approximately one - third of global trade. on one hand they offer financing, usually short - term in nature, which responds to the exporter ’ s or importer ’ s liquidity or working capital needs. they also offer coverage for risks through guarantees or insurance, ensuring the successful completion of transactions for the customer. moreover, the extension of coverage for credit risk facilitates – albeit indirectly – access to financing by reducing risk on the company ’ s balance sheet and, consequently, reducing the financial cost of the transaction. bis central bankers ’ speeches the remaining two - thirds of the financing of international trade are covered through intercompany credit, without the direct involvement of banks. nonetheless, these transactions might be indirectly backed by the banking sector, for instance through the discounting of bills that enables the company to obtain financing by using its customer trade receivables