The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was established in 1961 in Paris with the participation of twenty countries, and Hungary joined the organisation in 1996. The purpose of the organisation is to co-ordinate the economic, commercial and financial activities of the Member States; it also provides macro-economic and trade analysis, and statistics, to its members. The OECD established the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits in 1978, as well as the related environmental, sustainability and transparency rules that govern the operation of ECAs, including that of EXIM Hungary. This arrangement provides a legal framework for subsidised export credits and tied aid loans, thus ensuring a level playing field and eliminating trade distortions, but also a forum within the OECD for maintaining and monitoring financial discipline related to export credits. The country risk classification used in international trade and money market relations is also associated with the name of the OECD. The practical operation and advocacy of export credit agencies is dealt with by the council of Europe’s international working group on export credits.