Trade Finance Talks

As we celebrate our 20th podcast of Trade Finance Talks, we’re doing something very special. It’s TFG's first-ever Podcast Takeover, and we welcomed Michael Bickers, Editorial Director of BCR Publishing, who Trade Finance Global has partnered with for the BCR Supply Chain Finance Summit APAC on the 15th and 16th of October in Singapore. Michael speaks to Jolyon Ellwood-Russell, Partner, Financial Markets at Simmons & Simmons, based in Hong Kong. The topic is around Supply Chain Finance (SCF) programmes in Asia, how they’re changing, and what corporate treasurers, transaction banking teams and service providers could be thinking about when it comes to SCF.

TFG heard from David Morrish and Charles Woodgate from the London Institute of Banking and Finance, ahead of their annual conference, the World Conference for Banking Institutes (WCBI). Given times of unprecedented change within global trade, we discuss what this means for trade-related education, as well as the current diversity and gender challenges within the trade.

Credit Insurance is an important risk mitigant in international trade. So much can go awry, from political issues to non-payment. Both corporates and banks are now using credit insurance as a risk mitigant when financing international trade. But what actually is credit insurance, how can it be used to facilitate trade finance as a risk mitigant, and what are the key watch outs a corporate or bank should consider when using credit insurance? We talked to two credit insurance experts about security, policy wording, obligations and what happens when things go wrong.

See the full transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e18-moving-forward-with-credit-insurance/

Exporting is great, but hard. Particularly for UK exporters today. The global economy is changing fast. Despite the global financial crisis and Brexit, UK exports were worth around two times more in 2017 than in 1997 in real terms. Exporting is hard, especially for SMEs. Grappling with tariff changes, certificates of origin, Incoterms and all the customs documentation is no easy feat. On that subject, TFG spoke to the winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade. Deepesh Patel interviewed Imran Arshad, founder of Eventuri, an SME that designs and manufactures advanced carbon fibre air intake systems used for performance cars.

See the full transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e17-imran-arshad-eventuri-ceo-exclusive-with-uk-luxury-car-systems-exporter/

On the 1st January 2020, Incoterms® Rules will be changing. As Media Alliance Partners of the ICC Incoterms® 2020 rules changes, TFG's Deepesh Patel heard from ICC United Kingdom's Director General, Chris Southworth, as well as Professor Charles Debattista and David Lowe from the ICC Incoterms® 2020 Steering Committee. We hear about the importance of Incoterms® in international trade, why they are changing in 2020, and what businesses should be thinking about in order to prepare for these changes.

See the full transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e16-incoterms-2020-rules/

Lesley McNamara, Head of Strategy and Product, Global Trade & Supply Chain Finance, Bank of America Merrill Lynch spoke to TFG on Transaction Banking Trends, with a Global Trade & Treasury Mid-Year Outlook. The life of a corporate treasurer is changing, and so is transaction banking. Amidst the current macroeconomic and geopopolitical climate, banks, treasurers and corporates must adapt. More than ever before, corporates are demanding more flexibility on working capital solutions and new opportunities for on-going investment in their businesses. This is forcing banks to innovate, both in supply chain finance and trade finance. We hear the latest from BAML on integrating product offerings, digital banking trends, corporate treasury and trade updates. 

See the full transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e15-bank-of-america-lesley-mcnamara-trade-treasury-supply-chain/

TFG were live at the Telegraph’s Future of Trade & Export conference, joined by Michael Boguslavsky, Head of AI at Tradeteq. There are a number of disruptive opportunities to digitise trade finance, including, machine learning, artificial intelligence, robotics, natural language processing. The International Data Corporation predicts that worldwide spending on cognitive and AI systems will reach $77.6 billion USD by 2022. It is clear that AI has much to offer to the trade and receivables finance area, and in this podcast we explore these opportunities.

See the full transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e14-artificial-intelligence-ai-trade-finance-michael-boguslavsky-tradeteq/

TFG reports live from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's financial centre, at FCI's 51st Annual Meeting. Southeast Asia is one of the world's fastest growing regions, yet is one of the most complex, and diverse. Editor Deepesh Patel heard from experienced author, journalist and conflict moderator, Michael Vatikiotis, talking about the world's largest economic trading hub, religious conflict in Asia, divergence and polarisation of the East and West and the role of the business community in championing global commerce.

See the full transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e13-role-of-modern-southeast-asia-in-the-global-economy-vatikiotis/

The trade finance gap lies at around $1.5tn USD. Regulation and compliance, whilst set in best interests, may however be leading to the exacerbation of this trade finance gap. So, how do we ensure that regulation does not hinder the provision of trade finance and promote its fair regulatory treatment? The International Chamber of Commerce Banking Commission recently released a whitepaper urging the trade finance industry to work together, ensuring that regulation doesn’t hinder the availability of trade finance. Here to discuss their recent report, Banking Regulation And The Campaign To Mitigate The Unintended Consequences For Trade Finance: is Olivier Paul, Director of Finance for Development at the ICC, joining us from Paris.

See the full transcript and whitepaper here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e12-the-unintended-consequences-of-regulation-on-trade-finance-icc-olivier-paul/

During Consortia 2019, Deepesh Patel heard from Chief Strategy Officer Dave Sutter from TradeIX, discussing the key requirements for the true digitalisation of trade finance, and what interoperability means for the networks and consortia within the blockchain / DLT trade space.

See the full transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e11-rewiring-trade-finance-tradeixs-dave-sutter/