- Trade finance underpins the real economy by financing tangible goods and providing the liquidity businesses need to grow and trade internationally.
- It plays a vital role in supporting SMEs, helping them access funding, export to new markets, and navigate challenges such as decarbonisation.
- Despite its reputation, trade finance is a resilient and fast-growing asset class, offering significant opportunities as global trade and funding demand continue to expand.
As we welcome 2026, one thing remains unchanged: trade finance is in many ways the black sheep of asset classes. Fraught with rumoured complexity, allegedly eternal transaction times, and lingering fears of fraud, the industry is in dire need of a rebrand.
Who better to champion it than industry veterans, who have been working for years to make trade finance safer, faster, and more accessible for SMEs? At the London Trade Finance Forum, Trade Finance Global (TFG) asked professionals in every area of the industry to make a case for trade finance – in less time than it takes to ride an elevator.
Here are their best arguments.
Trade finance enables the real economy
One of the biggest appeals of the industry is its inextricable connection with the real world, said Dirk Besdziek, Senior Trade Advisor, Institutional Client Advisory & Analytics at Commerzbank.
Unlike the abstract world of stocks trading or derivatives, “when we provide trade finance solutions, there really is a boatload of ball bearings or a boatload of machine parts on the high seas that we’re financing,” said Beszdiek.
Trade finance drives growth
The liquidity provided by trade finance is essential for businesses to grow, said Emma Lane, Head of Sales, Business & Professional Services at Moneycorp. “Money makes the world go round,” said Lane, and what better way to provide firms with money than trade finance?
Trade finance boosts communication
A little-discussed but crucial benefit of trade finance is its ability to connect different regions, markets, and industries.
“Where there is trade, there is trade finance, and whenever there is trade, there is communication, and there is peace,” said Federico Avellán Borgmeyer, Chief Partner Officer at efcom. Maintaining trade relationships is all the more crucial in times of global tension, and trade finance can act as a key stabiliser.
Trade finance helps SMEs
SMEs make up 99.9% of the business population in the UK, employing over 60% of all workers and generating over half the nation’s yearly turnover. They are crucial to driving long-term growth, but to do so, they must have the right kind of support – which often comes in the form of trade financing, said Lauren Rabbitte, Managing Director at Go Green Now and Associate Director at ECS.
“Trade finance is brilliant at connecting and supporting SMEs,” said Rabbitte, especially as they move towards decarbonisation.
Trade finance unlocks exports
For SMEs to grow, they often need to look towards new markets: “Exporting makes companies more productive and it facilitates growth,” explained Amy Clarke, Head of Short-Term Business at UK Export Finance (UKEF).
To be able to export, however, businesses need liquidity and security – both of which can be provided by a variety of trade finance instruments. “In all four corners of the UK, UKEF is getting to the SMEs to help them become exporters or grow in their export journey, and that’s what we want to see more of,” said Clarke.
Trade finance is full of opportunities
To put it bluntly, “trade finance is a very interesting trade asset class,” said John Omoti, Head of Supply Chain Finance at the Bank of China. The rising demand for trade finance – represented by the ever-widening trade finance gap – is attracting new players to the industry and driving innovation.
“The more we have new players like alternative lenders and insurance providers in the trade finance space, the more funding becomes available within the SMEs and even in emerging markets, the more we can plug the trade finance gap,” explained Omoti.
As global trade grows, trade finance will only hold on to its momentum, creating valuable opportunities for those willing to enter the industry.
Trade finance is growing faster than ever
“What really makes trade finance so attractive is that trade finance as an asset class is severely undertapped,” said Amita Sujith, Product Manager – finPhlo at Phlo Systems. The growing gap means more and more funding is required, creating demand for banks and alternative lenders.
Besides its growth trajectory, trade finance is in many ways one of the safest industries to enter: unlike other sectors that fear being taken over by AI or erased by one big recession, trade finance is incredibly resilient. The industry “will consistently be in trend, because there will never be a point where we don’t need financing for our trade operations,” said Sujith.
