Bond Support Scheme
Find out about the Bond Support Scheme - how it works, its benefits and how to apply.
Our Bond Support Scheme provides partial guarantees to banks in support of UK exports to help banks meet demand for contract bonds.
When an exporter wins an export contract, they may be required to provide a contract bond. One solution could be for the exporter’s bank to issue the required bonds to the overseas customer on the exporter’s behalf.
However, in order to provide this bond, the bank is likely to require collateral (in the form of a cash deposit) to secure the bond, which could put pressure on the exporter’s working capital or cash flow. We can provide a guarantee of up to 80% of the value of the bond. This allows banks to release the cash needed to secure the bond for the exporter to use as working capital.
There is no maximum value for each bond and no maximum or minimum term for a guarantee.
How it works
Benefits
Under the scheme banks:
- can issue a bond (or indemnify the issue of) a bond without incurring the full risk
- may increase the amount of working capital available to the exporter by relieving pressure on the exporter due to the requirement to provide cash deposits as collateral to secure the bond
- receive a guarantee from UKEF to cover the percentage of the amount due to it if the exporter fails to reimburse the bank following a call being made on the bond by the buyer
- may, for the duration of our guarantee, be able to increase its risk appetite for the exporter
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for support under our Bond Support Scheme, the transaction must satisfy UKEF’s eligibility criteria, which includes the requirements that:
- the exporter must be carrying on business in the UK
- the exporter must have entered, or be intending to enter, into a contract for the supply of goods and/or services with a company or other organisation that carries on business outside the UK
All transactions supported by UKEF must satisfy:
- our foreign content policy
- our anti-bribery and corruption and environmental, social and human rights due diligence processes
The transaction may not be supported if there are sanctions imposed on the country of the overseas customer.
Cost
The guaranteed bank pays us a guarantee fee. This is a proportion of the fee the bank receives from the exporter for issuing (or indemnifying the issue of) the bond.
How to apply
To access Bond Support, exporters should discuss their potential application with their bank.
Exporters who bank with one of the names listed below may be able to benefit from a streamlined process. Five banks have signed up to access the scheme directly. There is no need to fill in any of the forms on this page.
contactdetailsforbankswhoaccesstheschemedirectlycontactdetailsforbankswhoaccesstheschemeindirectlyviaapplicationforms
To find out more about our Bond Support Scheme or to discuss eligibility for our support, contact our customer services team.
Contact customer.service@ukexportfinance.gov.uk or call +44 (0)20 7271 8010.
Contact details for approved lenders
Access our Bond Support Scheme directly through your bank
You do not need to complete the forms on this page if you bank with:
- Barclays Bank Plc
- HSBC UK Bank Plc
- Lloyds Banking Group/Bank of Scotland Plc
- The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc/National Westminster Bank Plc/Ulster Bank
- Santander UK Plc
Contact your bank for further guidance.
| Lender | Contact | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barclays UK | Paul Bowman | N/A | paul.bowman3@barclays.com |
| Barclays International | Mathew Enright | N/A | mathew.enright@barclays.com |
| HSBC UK Bank Plc | Liz Ambler (London and South East) | N/A | elizabethambler@hsbc.com |
| Matt Osborn (Midlands, South West and Wales) | N/A | matt.j.osborn@hsbc.com | |
| Barry Millar (North, including Scotland and Northern Ireland) | N/A | barry.millar@hsbc.com | |
| Lloyds Banking Group/Bank of Scotland Plc | Trade Finance | N/A | TradeFinance@lloydsbanking.com |
| National Westminster Bank Plc | Chris Duggan, SolutionsLine Team | 0800 2100235 | internationalbanking@natwest.com |
| The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc | Chris Duggan, SolutionsLine Team | 0800 2100235 | internationalbanking@rbs.co.uk |
| Ulster Bank | Gavin Murphy, Global Trade Finance | 028 9027 6632 | gavin.murphy@ulsterbankcm.com |
| Santander UK Plc | Trade and Supplier Finance | N/A | tradeandsupplierfinanceproduct@santander.co.uk |
Other participating banks
You can also access our Bond Support Scheme directly through another approved lender.
Application forms
For those lenders who have not signed up to access UKEF support, the following forms should be used to access our support
- a single export contract:
- multiple export contracts with nominated buyers:
- a contract for a direct supplier to an exporter:
- our
Once a UKEF guarantee facility has been agreed and a facility letter issued:
- individual guarantee request:
More information
- Read our guide for applicants on business processes and factors, to find out how we make decisions on applications
- Read our position on Financial Crime Compliance
Last updated 14
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Banks can no longer submit “paper applications” to use UKEF short term products. The relevant information has been removed.
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Contact information for State Bank of India, London Main Branch updated.
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Barclays contact details updated
-
HSBC contact Jill Hauge has been replaced with Bill Milar.
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Updated following announcement that small businesses can now access government-backed export finance directly from their banks.
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Change to Security of Information Arrangements
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First published.
Update history
2025-08-06 11:18
Removed application forms
2025-03-07 15:58
Updated contact for Barclays International
2024-10-16 15:20
Barclays International contact updated.
2023-11-20 18:29
References to Global Facility product removed.
2023-10-23 17:45
Contact for Virgin Money included.
2023-06-26 12:15
Ulster Bank removed.
2023-02-14 11:19
Banks can no longer submit “paper applications” to use UKEF short term products. The relevant information has been removed.
2022-08-23 15:23
Contact information for State Bank of India, London Main Branch updated.
2022-07-29 13:50
Barclays contact details updated
2022-06-14 18:05
HSBC contact Jill Hauge has been replaced with Bill Milar.