Estimated reading time: 11 minutes
Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG:
- November | Tracking digital trade in Peru and beyond
- Structured credit: Closing in on the trade finance gap
- C-suite speaks | ICISA’s Richard Wulff provides four reasons to digitalise trade
- TFG media partner of FCI, IFC, and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan’s receivables and payables finance
- US financial institutions explore regulated settlement network with shared ledger technology
- PODCAST | Factoring and receivables: What’s in store for 2025?
- UK invoice financing startup Stenn put into administration after HSBC application
- ABN AMRO to wind down asset-based financing in UK and Germany
- South Africa faces mixed global economic outlook, PwC reports
November | Tracking digital trade in Peru and beyond
Check back at the end of every month to hear from Pamela Mar, Managing Director, ICC Digital Standards Initiative (ICC DSI) and get the latest insights into digital trade! Read more →
Structured credit: Closing in on the trade finance gap
At the Trade Finance Investor Day, André Casterman, CEO of the Trade Finance Distribution Initiative (TFDI), sat down with TFG to discuss the role of securitisation in building resilience within the trade finance ecosystem. Read more →
C-suite speaks | ICISA’s Richard Wulff provides four reasons to digitalise trade
At the 2024 Trade Finance Investor Day conference in London, TFG spoke with Richard Wulff, Executive Director of the International Credit Insurance and Surety Association (ICISA) and TFG Editorial Board Member. Read more →
TFG media partner of FCI, IFC, and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan’s receivables and payables finance
In Central Asia’s most populous city, industry leaders tackled the fundamentals of factoring and supply chain finance. Read more →
US financial institutions explore regulated settlement network with shared ledger technology
The Regulated Settlement Network (RSN) Proof-of-Concept (PoC) aims to how tokenised securities and central bank and commercial deposits could utilise shared ledger technology to enhance settlement processes within a financial market infrastructure. Read more →
PODCAST | Factoring and receivables: What’s in store for 2025?
TFG spoke to Federico Avellán Borgmeyer, Chief Partner Officer at efcom, at the FCI Conference in Prague to learn more about this year’s developments and what’s in store for 2025. Read more →
UK invoice financing startup Stenn put into administration after HSBC application
Following an order from the London High Court of Justice, three managing directors from Interpath Advisory, a consulting and restructuring firm, will take over as administrators of Stenn and Stenn Assets UK, its funding vehicle. Read more →
ABN AMRO to wind down asset-based financing in UK and Germany
On 26 November ABN AMRO, one of the largest Dutch banks, announced its plans to wind down the international operations of its asset-based financing division by the end of 2026. Instead, it will focus its efforts in Northwestern Europe and its finance and advisory services. Read more →
South Africa faces mixed global economic outlook, PwC reports
According to the Bureau for Economic Research, targeted reforms in energy, logistics, and crime could potentially boost South Africa’s real GDP growth to 3.3% in 2025, potentially creating 470,000 jobs and reducing unemployment to 31.4%. Read more →
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- Bridging the Divide: The digitalisation of trade in emerging markets
- OPEC fund provides $30m to Uzbek bank to support local MSMEs
- Moving goods is easy, moving data is hard: Trade 3.0
- Central Asia gets investment boost from ITFC and ESCAP partnership
- South Korea cuts rates amidst US uncertainty
- Cyprus’s first A rating since 2011 is a “vote of confidence” in its financial services sector
- Trade finance leaders seek UN support to close global economic divide
Bridging the Divide: The digitalisation of trade in emerging markets
An unequal world begets misrepresentative data, which is then used as perfect. To tell us more, Trade Finance Global’s Assistant Editor Mahika Ravi Shankar sat down with TFG Researcher Carter Hoffman. Read more →
OPEC fund provides $30m to Uzbek bank to support local MSMEs
The OPEC Fund for International Development has extended a $30 million loan to Ipak Yuli Bank, the organisation announced on Monday. This is the fund’s first direct financing of a privately owned bank in Uzbekistan. Read more →
Moving goods is easy, moving data is hard: Trade 3.0
We must turn to the digital realm for efficiency and resiliency by enhancing coordination across the supply chain to handle this complexity. At stake is the very fabric of global trade, the lifeblood of nations. Read more →
Central Asia gets investment boost from ITFC and ESCAP partnership
The project, “Boosting exports through Foreign Direct Investment”, will fall under the ITFC’s “Trade Connect Central Asia+” program and include support for Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Read more →
South Korea cuts rates amidst US uncertainty
South Korea’s central bank delivered an unexpected interest rate cut on Thursday, signalling further monetary easing. The move comes as trade uncertainties mount, linked to Donald Trump’s upcoming return to the US presidency. Read more →
Cyprus’s first A rating since 2011 is a “vote of confidence” in its financial services sector
Moody’s Ratings announced on 22 November it had upgraded Cyprus’ long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings from Baa2 to A3. Read more →
Trade finance leaders seek UN support to close global economic divide
At the inaugural Trade Finance Conference of Parties (TF COP) in Washington, DC, ITFA unveiled the Washington Declaration, a proposal calling on the United Nations (UN) to recognise the trade finance gap as a critical barrier to sustainable development. Read more →
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- New WTO paper launched, on how AI shapes and is shaped by international trade
- VOXPOP | What treasury trends will shape 2025?
- The journey of sustainability: Industry-led action
- What the NDC 3.0 guidelines mean for small businesses
- PODCAST | TFG’s treasury treasure trove
- Belize leads the way for financial transparency in Latin America
- US Treasury official warns of alternative payment systems risk
- Brazil’s Central Bank advances digital currency with blockchain pilot
New WTO paper launched, on how AI shapes and is shaped by international trade
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has today published a report entitled ‘Trading with intelligence: How AI shapes and is shaped by international trade’: the first comprehensive report on AI. Read more →
VOXPOP | What treasury trends will shape 2025?
It’s nearly impossible to predict how treasury will look by this time next year, but we have enough to speculate on what forces will steer the industry in 2025. Read more →
The journey of sustainability: Industry-led action
The journey towards sustainability will be tumultuous and unpredictable, but certainly not insurmountable. Read more →
What the NDC 3.0 guidelines mean for small businesses
Announced yesterday at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, theNDC 3.0 guidelines provide a way for countries to practically support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in achieving national climate goals. Read more →
PODCAST | TFG’s treasury treasure trove
As we get ready for 2025, Trade Finance Global (TFG) spoke with our Editorial Board Member Eleanor Hill to explore the biggest trends in the world of treasury: technology, ESG, DEI, and the power of people. Read more →
Belize leads the way for financial transparency in Latin America
Belize, a country with an economy one-tenth the size of Glasgow’s, has implemented a digital registry to track the ultimate owners of companies registered in the country and improve financial transparency. Read more →
US Treasury official warns of alternative payment systems risk
Brent Neiman, the US Treasury’s assistant secretary for international finance, has cautioned that new cross-border payment systems could threaten global financial stability if they sidestep established anti-money laundering (AML) standards. Read more →
Brazil’s Central Bank advances digital currency with blockchain pilot
The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) is developing a blockchain-powered trade finance solution for the second phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, DREX. Read more →
- When would you issue a letter of credit available by acceptance?
- Closer cooperation with Asian EXIM Banks is opportune for ADB
- VIDEO | Eleanor Hill answering FAQs on Women in Trade, Treasury, and Payments 2025
- Empowering Vietnamese SMEs: Navigating trade and supply chain finance challenges
- Government announces rollback of Single Trade Window, sparking doubts about future of post-Brexit trade
- VOXPOP | André Casterman on bridging the trade finance gap
- What the NDC 3.0 guidelines mean for small businesses
When would you issue a letter of credit available by acceptance?
Given that even in an acceptance credit, the issuing bank’s undertaking to honour a complying presentation stands regardless of whether drafts have been accepted, the question is: Why call for drafts at all? Read more →
Closer cooperation with Asian EXIM Banks is opportune for ADB
The Asian EXIM Banks Forum Annual Meeting is being held in China for the first time in 11 years. Over a dozen export credit agencies and three multilateral financial institutions are attending the forum in Shanghai. Read more →
VIDEO | Eleanor Hill answering FAQs on Women in Trade, Treasury, and Payments 2025
Trade Finance Global’s (TFG) Mahika Ravi Shankar (MRS) spoke with Eleanor Hill (EH), TFG’s treasury expert and a member of our gender-equal editorial board, about their upcoming Women in Trade, Treasury, and Payments event. Read more →
Empowering Vietnamese SMEs: Navigating trade and supply chain finance challenges
In Vietnam, a more inclusive financial ecosystem is possible through collaboration with large enterprises to approach, market, and sell products and services to SMEs. Read more →
Government announces rollback of Single Trade Window, sparking doubts about future of post-Brexit trade
The UK government has announced its plans to halt the development of the Single Trade Window (STW), a digital service that would have streamlined data exchange for cross-border trade. Read more →
VOXPOP | André Casterman on bridging the trade finance gap
Trade Finance Global (TFG) spoke to André Casterman, CEO of TFD Initiative and Chairperson of the ITFA Fintech Committee, at the 2024 Trade Finance Investor Day conference in London. Read more →
What the NDC 3.0 guidelines mean for small businesses
The International Trade Centre (ITC), the UN agency for small businesses, has just released their NDC 3.0 guidelines to practically support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in achieving national climate goals. Read more →
PODCAST | ADB works with UNODC and Financial Intelligence Units to shine light in the shadows of TBML
TBML is conducted by criminals to conceal illegal income by moving it through legitimate trade transactions by undervaluing or overvaluing goods and services, thus laundering large sums of money. Read more →
How President Trump might affect trade, treasury, and payments
Trump’s proposed ‘Maganomics’ agenda threatens to reshape the global economic landscape in ways not seen since the 1930s, with potentially seismic implications for international trade, treasury operations, and cross-border payments. Read more →
PODCAST | Digital lifelines: How AI is strengthening global supply chains
TFG spoke to Surecomp’s Head of Global Solution Consulting Suchi Guharoy, to discuss digitisation in supply chains and how AI can be implemented to resolve bottlenecks and improve resilience. Read more →
Banks and corporations respond to ICC Principles for Sustainable Trade
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has introduced the third wave of its Principles for Sustainable Trade. This latest update incorporates feedback from over 30 leading banks and corporations. Read more →
VIDEO | A delicate balance between human oversight and automation
The need for a concerted approach to talent recruitment, mentoring, and development in the insurance and reinsurance industries must be met. Read more →
Standard Chartered and BII sign $350m trade finance facility for emerging markets
On 4 November, Standard Chartered and British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, announced the signing of a $350 million risk participation agreement to support emerging markets in Africa and South Asia. Read more →
J.P. Morgan digitalises bills of exchange
J.P. Morgan is nearing completion of its first live digital trade finance transaction, following the bank’s collaboration with technology provider Enigio. Read more →
- Bank of China on the renminbi’s internationalisation
- Correspondent banking relationships dwindle in the Pacific Islands
- 2024 ICC Trade Register report positively upbeat despite global trade goods slowdown
- The legacy of Bidenomics on global trade
- The crux of the trade finance interoperability challenge
- 2024 budget: A mixed blessing for the trade finance sector
- International financial institutions unite to facilitate SCF provision in emerging markets
- Citi announces end-to-end digital bill discounting solution
Bank of China on the renminbi’s internationalisation
China’s currency – the renminbi (RMB) – is finding new appeal among emerging market traders and global investors seeking alternative settlement options. TFG spoke to BOC’s Xiong Yuanmeng to learn more about the renminbi’s burgeoning internationalisation. Read more →
Correspondent banking relationships dwindle in the Pacific Islands
TFG spoke to the Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP) at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), on how declining CBRs jeopardise these countries’ ability to conduct international trade and receive vital remittances. Read more →
2024 ICC Trade Register report positively upbeat despite global trade goods slowdown
The 2024 ICC Trade Register report reaffirms the low-risk nature of trade finance assets, despite a slowdown of global trade volumes in 2023. Read more →
The legacy of Bidenomics on global trade
During his term in office, Biden’s inward-looking investment policies have resulted in public rifts from European and Asian allies. In this, the Inflationary Reduction Act (IRA) particularly beset the US’s standing in global trade. Read more →
The crux of the trade finance interoperability challenge
The rationale of the trade digitalisation business case has been finally approved, which has likewise improved the willingness to participate in the next steps. Read more →
2024 budget: A mixed blessing for the trade finance sector
On 30 October, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced the UK’s Autumn 2024 budget.This is the first budget by a female chancellor in history and the first by a Labour government in 14 years. Read more →
International financial institutions unite to facilitate SCF provision in emerging markets
The participating institutions have pledged to create a joint working group focused on leveraging resources for SME support in supply chains, to bridge substantial gaps in market access. Read more →
Citi announces end-to-end digital bill discounting solution
Citi has announced the launch of the Citi Digital Bill (CDB), a new integrated digital bill discounting solution to speed up the monetisation of receivables. Read more →
