There is a common miss-conception that four or five multiple banks must be involved to manage letter of credit transactions. These multiple banks include credit issuing banks, advising banks, negotiating banks, confirming banks, and reimbursing banks. What is less understood is that these “banks” are functions, not necessarily physical banks. The trade finance functions these banks perform in a transaction can be done by separate banking institutions or by one bank under UCP 600 guidelines (Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, ICC Publication 600).

The ICC Uniform Rules for Collections (URC522) Supplement for Electronic Presentation (eURC). On 1 July 2019, the revised internet eRules and guidelines for online trade finance documentary collections came into effect for banks, importers, exporters, and freight forwarders to prepare and present electronic records for documentary collections in lieu of or in conjunction with paper documents.

AGTB: New kid on the block. TFG heard from Daniel Gould, Deputy CEO of Anglo Gulf Trade Bank, and its new digital offering for trade finance in the UAE and MENA region. Building a trade bank from scratch without relying on legacy technologies has enabled AGTB to reimagine trade finance, building a competitive product for the corporate banking space.

On 1 July 2019, the long-awaited revised internet eRules and guidelines for online trade finance finally arrived for banks, importers, exporters, freight forwarders, chambers of commerce, customs brokers, logistics companies and carriers, to prepare and present electronic records for documentary letters of credit in lieu of or in conjunction with paper documents.

Before 2019, Sibos made its last appearance in the UK in Brighton, 1985. So, what was the world like in 1985? TFG’s Ross McKenzie reports on the trade themes of Sibos 2019.

The EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) was developed to promote and facilitate international trade to, from and within economies where the EBRD invests. Under the TFP, guarantees are provided to international commercial banks (confirming banks), thereby covering the political and commercial payment risk of transactions undertaken by issuing banks. Since the TFP programme was initiated in 1999 the EBRD has financed more than 24,000 transactions for a total of more than €19 billion.

All global industries require standards. Remember what a huge step forward it was when the carrier industry agreed on the design for a shipping container. The same is true for electronic trade documents and their supporting systems.

TFG heard from Accenture’s Cecile Andre Leruste, on the major digitisation initiatives within the commodiy finance space. Commodity finance is in a phase of major transition, driven by multiple megatrends

Change is not just coming; change is here today, now. The impact of using electronic trade documents instead of hard copies of bills of lading, invoices, packing lists, and certificates to settle trade transactions via the Internet will be as profound to global trade finance as the containerization of cargo was to logistics.

Today the completion of the world’s first integrated paperless trade transaction happened – in iron ore – involving Rio Rinto selling bulk iron ore to Cargill, who sourced the cargo… read more →