Trade Finance Talks

CEPA or CPTPP? An Overview of UK-Japan Trade

Japan is the third-largest economy in the world, and one of the most open economies with 4% of global GDP. Once perceived a difficult market to enter, it has, over the past 30 years, grown to be a global powerhouse, from automotives and agriculture, to digital trade and innovation.
Today’s podcast focuses on the Free Trade Agreement, FTA with Japan, more specifically referred to as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, Or CEPA. The UK and Japan are major investors in each other’s economies, ranking fifth and sixth respectively for inward foreign direct investment.
Full transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/cepa-or-cptpp-an-overview-of-uk-japan-trade/

Multilateral Perspective - A Roadmap for Sustainable Trade Finance

TFG heard from ICC Banking Commission experts who are taking a step beyond the hype of sustainable trade finance, and looking at the role of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and development finance institutions (DFIs) on what sustainable trade finance means and what the industry must do.
There’s no doubt that Covid-19 has also changed appetite here. Companies are under pressure to see what’s happening right across their supply chains, and tracing any items in them – from field to factory to customer (and beyond). Integrating any tools that can support resilient supply chains can also underpin sustainability efforts.
Access the resources and more information about the initiatives discussed in this podcast here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e54-podcast-multilateral-perspective-a-roadmap-for-sustainable-trade-finance/

FCI: Views from the Board, Factoring and Receivables

One year ago, FCI members gathered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, at FCI’s Annual Conference. Reflecting back, the 2018 factoring volumes stood at 2.7tn euros. For 2019, the volumes increased once again, by just over 5% YoY, at 2.9tn euros.
What were the biggest challenges to the industry in 2019? 2019 saw extreme economic and political volatility, the rise in nationalism and protectionism, and of course, this led to a general slowdown in global trade. 
This was all before the coronavirus pandemic. Fast forwarding 12 months, the geopolitical and macroeconomic factors continued, even heightened, coupled with the crippling effects of the Covid-19 crisis.
The Receivables finance industry now plays a critical role in recovery and the turn towards eventual growth in global trade, particularly by continuing to finance SMEs during this challenging period. TFG’s Deepesh Patel caught up with FCI’s Chairman, Mr. Patrick de Villepin, and FCI Vice Chairman, Mrs. Daniela Bonzanini, joining virtually at the FCI Annual Conference.
In this podcast we heard from FCI on:
The legality of delivering a Dutch based association’s Annual Conference online
Response from the factoring industry - how the pandemic has affected factoring volumes amongst FCI and FCI members
Factoring in 2019 recap - factoring volumes grew 5% last year to just under 3 billion euros, also reaching 4.05% global penetration, a rise from the previous year
The likely impact of factoring volumes as a result of Covid-19
The role of factoring in a real economy crisis
The Bangladesh Policy on Factoring and FCI’s involvement
The UNIDROIT Model Law on Factoring 
How can governments support and backstop the credit insurance market, why is this important, and what success have we seen so far?
What is edifactoring and how does it help factors?
Short- to medium-term focus for FCI
Full transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e53-fci-views-from-the-board-factoring-and-receivables/

Building resilience in treasury: leadership, supply chains and cash flow

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast- which recognises the fact that strategies become extinct very quickly when faced with a pandemic, so it’s really important that the culture of a business or a treasury team, in this case, is one of agility and resilience." - Caroline Stockmann
What then makes a good and effective leader?
TFG's Deepesh Patel heard from Caroline Stockmann, Chief Executive, Association of Corporate Treasurers on lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic on building resilience in treasury.
https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e53-building-resilience-in-treasury-leadership-supply-chains-and-cash-flow/
 

Does Free Trade really work? The Good, Bad and Ugly of Trade

Trade is a force good, but with the current Covid-19 pandemic, the World Trade Organization facing its biggest challenges yet, and a turn towards protectionism in many economies, the current trade outlook is unsettling, and uncertain.
The UK’s trading regime after the end of the transition period yields much uncertainty and potential tariff reversals in just a few months. Today we’re talking about the power of good trade policy, how trade negotiations are done, and how to mitigate the negative effects of trade.
We heard from Professor L Alan Winters, Director of UKTPO at the University of Sussex. 
Full podcast and transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e51-uktpo-when-trade-goes-wrong-the-bad-and-ugly-of-trade-l-alan-winters/

The Transatlantic Trade Love Triangle

The United States and the European Union are the two most integrated trading blocks in the world, having increased their economic interdependence with the linkages in global supply chains, e-commerce, and investment. 
The trade flows between the two partners account for a third of world trade flows, totalling more than £1 trillion in 2019, and the two account for more than half of global foreign direct investment.
Yet this triangle of trade has gone through a lot recently. With the UK leaving the EU, the current political stance of the US administration, and the increasing role of China in the global economy changes the dynamics of these three trading blocs, and the position of the UK post-Brexit.
So what’s next for this powerful trio? TFG heard from Elitsa Garnizova, Senior Project Manager and Researcher, London School of Economics on the current updates and what we can expect in this UK-EU-US economic relationship.
Full article here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e50-the-transatlantic-trade-love-triangle/

The misuse of payables finance - Global Supply Chain Finance Forum (GSCFF) Commentary

The supply chain finance technique of payables finance is regarded by the industry as a useful and beneficial tool for both buyers and suppliers. Yet recently, it’s come under significant scrutiny by the press, financial Ombudsman, and various regulators around the world. Add to this, the financial distress wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, with SMEs tending to be the first to feel the effects of financial crises. Peter Mulroy, Secretary General of FCI, Stacey Facter, SVP of Trade Products at BAFT, and Christian Hauscher, Chairman of the Global Supply Chain Finance Forum and Product Manager for Trade and SCF EMEA at Deutsche Bank, discussed why payables finance remains a force for good.
Full article and report here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e49-misuse-of-supply-chain-finance-worrying-but-not-widespread-says-gscff/

Customs, the BOM and Ro-Ro - What Next for the UK?

The Coronavirus Pandemic has quite rightly been the key focus for governments around the world in recent months, but that doesn’t mean the UK’s exit from the European Union has taken a backseat.
Seems like quite a while ago now, but as of February 1st this year, the UK Brexited the EU, and we are in the transition phase until the end of 2020. But when clocks chime midnight at the New Year, the way exporters and importers trade with the EU will change significantly. There are implications for customs and declarations, changes at the ports, documentation, and various checks.
The information provided is often quite overwhelming, so in this podcast, we are catching up with an expert in these areas – Institute of Export & International Trade’s Kevin Shakespeare.

Separating cat pics from invoice scans - the role of artificial intelligence in global trade

Among the oldest areas of financial services, trade finance always held a central position within international trade, with 80 to 90% of transactions being financed by some form of credit, guarantee or insurance.
 
However, the sector is one of the most manual and paper-based of the whole industry, resulting in expensive and error-prone operations with a slow processing time.
 
Emerging and new technologies have potential to address these problems, with the potential to transform the way these transactions are conducted. With that in mind, today I am joined by Arnaud Doly, CEO & Founder of Nabu.

The state of trade: tension, transition, and turning point. TL;DR on ICC’s Global Trade Survey

Banks remain fairly optimistic about the future of trade finance, according to ICC’s recently published annual global survey on trade finance.
 
In the words of ICC’s Secretary General John Denton, “The year 2020 has not unfolded as anyone would have anticipated.”  
As partners of this survey, TFG heard from Alexander Malaket, Chair of the Global Survey, joining from Toronto. We’ll be dissecting the Global Survey, highlighting the key takehomes and discussing what this means for trade finance.
 
Read more about the Global Survey here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/breaking-banks-predict-up-to-30-decline-in-trade-flows-latest-icc-global-survey-on-trade-finance-shows/