BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 19. Moody’s Ratings (Moody’s) emphasized that the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation’s (ITFC) mandate to boost trade among member states of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) through Islamic finance continues to anchor strong support from shareholders, Trend reports.
“Trade finance is of critical importance to ITFC’s shareholders and beneficiaries, particularly in relation to key commodities such as oil and grains,” the agency noted.
Moody’s assessed member backing as robust, despite the comparatively weaker credit profile of most shareholders. “The weighted average shareholder rating is at Ba1, lower than most A-rated peers. However, we consider member support to be strong, and assume that the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), as the corporation’s largest shareholder, would provide financial support if needed,” the report stated. IsDB currently holds 36% of ITFC’s paid-in capital.
Moody’s also highlighted ITFC’s ability to amplify its development impact. “Despite its relatively modest balance sheet compared to similarly rated peers, ITFC has successfully scaled up its impact through co-investments in a syndicate format. In 2024, co-investments were more than twice the size of ITFC’s own trade finance disbursements,” the agency said, adding that this capacity enhances the corporation’s relevance for member countries and strengthens shareholder willingness to support it.
Underscoring this commitment, in May 2023 ITFC’s General Assembly authorized the issuance of up to $1 billion in callable capital, although Moody’s pointed out that “this amount has yet to be formally subscribed by a critical mass of the corporation’s shareholders.”