VOXPOP | Geoffrey Wynne on the uses of the BAFT MTLA - Trade Finance Global Archive

VOXPOP | Geoffrey Wynne on the uses of the BAFT MTLA

By Geoffrey Wynne

Geoffrey Wynne is a partner and head of Sullivan’s Trade & Export Finance Group and the firm's London office. Recognised as one of the leading trade finance lawyers globally, Geoff advises major trade finance banks and financial institutions around the world on trade and commodity transactions in virtually every emerging market and works on structured trade transactions covering a wide range of commodities. Geoff also acts extensively for industry bodies including BAFT, ITFA and the ICC on documentation and rules promulgated by them in trade finance. He has recently been involved with issues across the trade finance spectrum including the move towards digitising of trade documents. Geoff was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by RFIX in 2024 and is recognised as a leading lawyer by Chambers UK, the Legal 500, UK and IFLR1000.

Last updated on 07 May 2025

07 May 2025 1 min reading time

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Bankers Association for Finance and Trade Sullivan & Worcester

The Master Trade Loan Agreement (MTLA) was designed by the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) to be used for lending between financial institutions, specifically related to the financing or refinancing of trade transactions.

The landscape of market conditions and trade law is incredibly dynamic; as such, the MTLA has been updated this year to reflect the ongoing changes.

But what is the MTLA actually used for? At the 2025 BAFT Europe Bank to Bank Forum in Amsterdam, Trade Finance Global (TFG) learnt more from Geoffrey Wynne, Partner at Sullivan & Worcester LLP, the law firm which advised BAFT on the 2025 MTLA update.

“The MTLA is a good way for a lending bank to document its arrangements with a borrowing bank, so that it can finance the loan by that borrowing bank to its customers, for trade,” said Wynne.