As the world moves towards a low-carbon future, businesses in the metals and energy sectors are under increasing pressure to adapt.

As part of the 50th Annual International Trade And Forfaiting Conference (ITFA) in Cyprus, Trade Finance Global (TFG)’s Editorial Director Deepesh Patel sat down with Carol Searle, General Counsel and Group Board Director at Texel Group, to discuss her outlook for the credit insurance market at large.

Talking about trade and sustainability can be a double-edged sword: international trade is denounced by climate and anti-globalisation activists for polluting the planet, but many see great potential in trade to power a green transition. Like it or not, trade makes up almost 30% of global GDP; it has also lifted over a billion people out of poverty in the last decades, and is going to become an increasingly central part of the fight against climate change as more parts of the world become integrated in the global market.

Everyone loves a first birthday party.  The Electronic Trade Documents Act (or ETDA as it is affectionately known) celebrates that milestone on 20 September 2024.  Whilst 12 months is barely a beat in the life of a statute, now nonetheless seems like an appropriate moment to reflect on its progress to date. 

The International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) has been facilitating global trade finance by connecting various stakeholders, fostering collaboration, and driving innovation.

To learn more about the current state of credit insurance in trade finance, Trade Finance Global (TFG) spoke with Marcus Miller, Managing Director, Global Lenders Solutions Group Leader, Credit Specialties, and Marie-Aude Vesval, Global Unfunded Risk Participation Leader, Credit Specialties at Marsh.

In a quickfire session at the 50th Annual Trade and Forfaiting Conference held at ITFA Abu Dhabi, TFG’s Deepesh Patel spoke with Sean Edwards, Chairman of the International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA), about some of the key themes emerging throughout the conference.

In the container shipping industry, players across the supply chain are at varying levels of digital maturity. From cargo owners and terminal operators to legislators and governments, the wide range of participants makes uniformity difficult to achieve. As does the vulnerability of global networks, prone to disruption now more than ever.

To better support growing small businesses, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced a new pilot loan program that intends to help close the trade finance gap experienced by SME exporters. The 7(a) Working Capital Pilot (WCP) is the SBA’s first new loan program introduced in more than a decade and will be able to support lines of credit up to $5 million. 

A pilot program led by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has demonstrated a promising new approach to combating trade-based money laundering (TBML). This vast and underreported financial crime enables the flow of illicit funds through the global trade system.