Trade Finance Talks

Contour on fighting the trade finance gap with digital assets

Trade digitalisation has come a long way in the past half-decade, but there is still much more to do. 
TFG’s Deepesh Patel sat down with Contour’s CEO Carl Wegner and Chief Product Officer Joshua Kroeker to discuss trade assets, trade receivables, and the distribution of trade finance. 
 
Read more: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e85-contour-on-fighting-the-trade-finance-gap-with-digital-assets/

URDTT 1.0 - David Meynell discusses the new rules for digital trade transactions

Digital is all the rage right now in the trade space. Emerging technologies from AI to IoT to blockchain are promising to revolutionise global trade. 
The hype is real.
However, there are a few blips on the radar: in a lot of jurisdictions, digital instruments are still not legally able to replace their paper predecessors. 
 
This creates a lot of hesitancy among firms that are considering implementing digital processes. 
 
Find out more here:
https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e84urdtt-1-david-meynell-discusses-the-new-rules-for-digital-trade-transactions/(opens in a new tab)
 

Taking on Europe’s credit risk insurance rules with ITFA’s Silja Calac, Jean-Maurice Elkouby

Credit risk insurance is a vital instrument for bank risk and capital management, and for facilitating lending to the real economy. 
 
Typically, banks only use the strongest insurers with sound capital bases and risk management practices for credit risk insurance, but even so, some market participants argue that current regulations are overly restrictive.
 
One of those is Silja Calac, board member at the International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) and head of the ITFA Insurance Committee. 
 
Read more here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e83-aking-on-europes-credit-risk-insurance-rules-with-itfas-silja-calac-jean-maurice-elkouby/

Veridapt - How a revolution in stockpile and supply chain monitoring can transform trade finance

In all the crises of the last two years - the pandemic, lockdowns, inflation, and now the Russia-Ukraine conflict - few industries have seen as much volatility as the commodities industry.
Disruptions in both supply and demand have been more or less constant, making it extremely difficult for producers and traders to plan ahead in terms of volume, pricing, and liquidity.
As a leading provider of stockpile and supply chain monitoring technology, Veridapt is among the companies best placed to help with solutions in such tough trading conditions.
Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Veridapt is an industrial Internet of Things (IoT) business that has served the commodities markets for over 20 years. 
In this latest episode of our Trade Finance Talks, Sean Birrell, co-founder and chief technology officer at Veridapt and Rod Hutchinson, is the regional business development manager for the Americas at Veridapt talks about how a revolution in stockpile and supply chain monitoring can transform trade finance

Islamic finance guru Daud Vicary on fintech, sustainability, and other engines of growth

Daud Vicary has spent over 47 years in the finance and consulting industries, with significant experience in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Though formally retired since 2017, he holds many current positions, including his flagship role as an independent director at Finalytix, an analytics provider to ultra-high net worth individuals (HNWIs), family offices, and independent financial advisors (IFAs).
He is also a managing director at DVA Consulting, an Islamic finance consultancy, and he is the chairman of Ethis Global, a fintech, impact investment, and Islamic crowdfunding platform based in Malaysia. 
Applying his ethics skills in practice, he also sits on the advisory boards of PayHalal, the world’s first Shariah-compliant payment gateway, and IslamicMarkets.com, a leading financial intelligence and investing platform.
Read more here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-ep81-islamic-finance-guru-daud-vicary-on-fintech-sustainability-other-engines-of-growth/

‘Open by default’ - Finastra’s Iain MacLennan on partnerships, digitalisation, and helping SMEs triumph in uncertain times

 
The last two years have been a difficult time for SMEs, who have had to grapple with the challenges of supply chain disruptions, a global credit crunch, and inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
But despite the uncertainty and volatility of the last two years, SMEs’ working capital practices have evolved significantly, and perhaps irreversibly.
 
Though the global trade finance gap has continued to make new highs, hitting $1.7 trillion in 2020, both SMEs and the banks that serve them are now focusing on new ways to access much needed capital.
 
At the forefront of this challenge is digitalisation, which in trade finance is driven by a mixture of new technologies and partnerships that aim to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
 
But where does the industry currently stand on the challenge of digitalisation, and how much closer are we to the ambitious goal of frictionless, borderless trade finance?Joining TFG's Deepesh Patel to discuss is Iain MacLennan, head of trade and supply chain finance at Finastra.
 
Read more here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-open-by-default-finastras-iain-maclennan-on-fintech-partnerships-digitalisation-and-helping-smes-triumph-in-an-uncertain-macro-world/

Bent but not broken? TDM’s John Miller on global trade resilience as we say goodbye to COVID-19, and hello to war in Ukraine

The last two years have been like no other for the global economy. With a forced global shutdown followed by unprecedented fiscal stimulus, it's no surprise that volatility has been the name of the game since the outbreak of COVID-19.
But just as we say goodbye to one crisis, another has reared its head in the form of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Last year, we were on a royal road to recovery, with global trade hitting a record high of $28.5 trillion for the year, according to UNCTAD.
But will these gains turn out to be short-lived, as the global economy swaps one crisis for another?
Joining TFG's Deepesh Patel to discuss commodities, inflation, and supply chain resilience is John Miller, chief economic analyst at Trade Data Monitor (TDM).
 
Read more: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-bent-but-not-broken-tdms-john-miller-on-global-trade-resilience-as-we-say-goodbye-to-covid-19-and-hello-to-war-in-ukraine/(opens in a new tab)

Ships, sanctions, and suspicious vessels: How AIS and other trickery is confounding compliance

For financial institutions, the decision to investigate a client for potential sanctions violations has always been more of an art than a science. And this is even more true when that decision is based on shipping activity.Since the year 2000, the US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) have issued a range of new guidance for banks and insurance companies regarding maritime sanctions.Due diligence recommendations have covered everything from identifying commodities and trade corridors where ship-to-ship transfers take place, to tracking the use of automatic identification system (AIS) technology.So, how can we monitor risky transactions and suspicious vessels, and how can we prevent illegal transfers of goods in high-risk locations?Joining TFG's Deepesh Patel to discuss is:- Saskia Rietbroek, executive director, Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists (ACSS)- Michael Byrne, CEO, Institute of International Banking Law and Practice (IIBLP)
Read more: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-ep78-ships-sanctions-and-suspicious-vessels-how-ais-and-other-trickery-is-confounding-compliance/

EBRD’s Rudolf Putz on delivering trade finance to emerging markets during COVID-19, and looking to a greener future

With global trade already back at pre-pandemic levels, it is tempting to say that the global economy has recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the worst of its upheavals are now behind us.
However, there are also signs that the rebound from the low baseline of the pandemic is losing momentum, as major economies battle the shared headwinds of persistently high inflation, supply chain disruption, labour shortages, and new COVID-19 restrictions.
To ponder what effect these dynamics have had - and will continue to have - on trade finance in emerging markets, there are few better observers to call on than Rudolf Putz. 

What does the future hold for LNG?

In the commodities super cycle that has emerged out of the COVID-19 pandemic, few resources have seen as much volatility as liquified natural gas (LNG).
From record lows to record highs in less than 18 months, LNG’s ups and downs are perhaps rivalled only by crude oil, whose 300% plunge to -$40 a barrel in April 2020 is one for the history books, and one for future economics students to ponder.
But unlike oil’s flash crash, LNG’s roller coaster has been a much more sustained affair, taking it from a pandemic low of $1.85 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in May 2020, to almost $36 mmBtu today - an increase of more than 1,700%.
Full transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/video-grappling-with-oversupply-decarbonisation-record-price-volatility-what-does-future-hold-for-lng/