Dear Members and Friends, June was an eventful month after a torrid May. Emerging markets were closely monitoring the end of month G-20 meeting that resulted in a restart in trade consultations between the U.S and China as well as an agreement of not imposing new tariffs. In addition to that, the US Federal Reserve released minutes […]

The ITFA Fintech Event in June, kindly hosted by Deutsche Bank in London, uncovered different ways in which data management and machine learning technologies are being applied to trade finance origination and distribution. The event profiled the transformational work being undertaken by the likes of Taulia (corporate working capital), Traydstream (trade finance documentation), Coriolis (trade […]

ITFA Middle East Regional Committee, currently chaired by Semih Ozkan, Director, Corporate Trade Finance, Deutsche Bank, organized the first trade finance distribution forum in the region. With the “originate to distribute” theme, the forum, attended by over 60 participants, broadly assessed trade distribution as a form of risk mitigation while provided an overview of regulatory […]

The ITFA Muse reported on the Lloyd’s market published headline claims statistics as at June 2015. See ‘Focus on Insurance: Top Tips for Managing a Successful Claim by Katie Fowler and Carol Searle of Texel Finance Limited’ appearing in the ITFA Muse issue of May 2016. Xchanging Claims Services maintain these statistics for the Lloyd’s […]

Global Trade Finance Review – GTR – has released an article on how ITFA has reviewed the guidelines for banks using capital requirements regulation (CRR)-compliant non-payment insurance policies. The move follows significant market debate in the past year over the eligibility of insurance as a credit risk mitigant for CRR purposes. The drafting of the […]

TXF went to ITFA’s Fintech briefing in London in mid-June to investigate what practical progress is being made in the tradetech space and what individual companies present at the event are working on. Transparency and accurate data are key and artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) are all coming into […]

ITFA is pleased to welcome three new members to its growing Association: The Africa Merchant Capital group is a privately owned Boutique merchant bank, providing corporate finance, advisory, trade finance and asset finance solutions for mid market businesses active in sub-Saharan Africa. AMC Trade Finance provides bespoke structured trade finance solutions, supporting African trade through  […]

Dear Members and Friends, This month’s message is being written from Ho Chi Minh City where I am moderating a panel at the annual FCI factoring conference. It’s interesting to reflect, sitting here, how these markets, more emerged than emerging at times, need the finance that we are so well poised, but often fail, to […]

In May 2019, ITFA announced that a total of 18 fintechs had joined the trade association since the set-up of the Fintech Committee by the ITFA Board in early 2018. Substantial progress has indeed been achieved by many financial institutions when it comes to grasping the benefits brought by so-called “fintechs” and integrating advanced technology propositions in […]

On Wednesday 22 May 2019 ITFA NERC in association with its long standing partner Credit Europe Bank N.V. held its annual spring event in Amsterdam.  This was the ninth annual spring event and attracted the highest ever number of participants.  In line with market dynamics, various digital know-how’s were utilised including interactive app based Q&A […]

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is investigating ways of bringing greater use of supply chain finance (SCF) to its countries of operations. To date, there has been a limited uptake of buyer-led supply chain finance in particular in the countries in which the bank operates, which are spread across Central and Eastern […]

The ITFA Board is proud to have supported a charitable organisation dedicated to helping orphans and vulnerable children in Rwanda. Shelter Them (ITFA’s 2018 chosen charity), gives these children a future filled with hope and opportunity. Thanks to this organisation, they receive the basics of life including nutrition, shelter, education, healthcare and social support, giving them […]

The market challenge: understanding global trade tensions and flows Never has trade been a greater focus of global attention. Its role as a driver of economic growth is increasingly being usurped by its strategic role in furthering national agendas. Until very recently trade was seen as a benign mechanism for promoting global economic growth. Today, […]

ITFA would like to welcome R3 and Axis Bank UK Ltd to its growing Association. R3 is an enterprise Blockchain software firm working with a broad ecosystem of more than 300 members and partners across multiple industries from both the private and public sectors to develop on Corda, our open-source blockchain platform, and Corda Enterprise, […]

Dear Members and Friends, Following a lacklustre 2018, Emerging Market economies registered a significant turnaround in the first four months of the year, and during April EMs continued to benefit from a market scenario of contained inflationary pressures on the one hand and a stable US dollar on the other. Trade war tensions not only […]

GTR and ITFA’s Middle East Regional Committee gathered key players from across Mena’s trade ecosystem to talk about how well the region is faring in a world of trade wars and rapid digital transformation. Participants: Halina Bernard, head of treasury, General Motors Africa and Middle East Maninder Bhandari, director, Derby Group (chair) Rahul Daswani, senior manager, […]

Trade Finance Global heard from Sean Edwards, Chairman of the ITFA at the NEARC (North East Asia Regional Committee) Seminar held in Beijing on the 11th April 2019. About the ITFA (International Trade and Forfaiting Association) The ITFA are a member led organization at the heart of the international forfaiting community. With a mission of […]

Data technology and machine learning go together and two ITFA fintech’s have started an exciting collaboration to combine their niche value propositions to the benefit of trade originators and their exporting clients. Challenges in Trade Operations Documentary trade, traditionally facilitated by letters of credit (LCs) issued by banks, is often expected to be fading away […]

This year’s traditional ITFA Central and Eastern Europe Regional Education Seminar has taken place at the premises of Ceska  Sporitelna’s  Historical City Centre Branch in Prague on 11th April 2019. The Seminar was very successful with almost 45 participant’s from five different countries with reputable speakers and partners. The agenda covered very interesting topics such as […]

ITFA is pleased to introduce four new ITFA members: Munich Re is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance and insurance-related risk solutions. Munich Re is globally active and operates in all lines of the insurance business. Since it was founded in 1880, Munich Re has been known for its unrivalled risk-related expertise, […]