In the latest episode of GTR Trade Insights, we discuss the vibrant e-commerce market and what its evolution means from a funding perspective. On the show, we are joined by Citi’s Pauline Kontos, global head of working capital advisory, treasury and trade solutions (TTS) and Bob Petrie, director, TTS trade partnerships and innovation. They outline …

In recent years, banks have been closely watching to see if regulators in the EU, UK, and US would impose higher capital requirements on trade finance products like standby letters of credit and guarantees. In a significant win for trade finance providers, the Bank of England has recently abandoned its proposal to raise capital requirements for key…

Since late last year, Houthi rebels in Yemen have been escalating their attacks on commercial shipping routes in the Red Sea, firing Iranian designed anti-ship missiles and launching drone strikes on vessels carrying goods between Europe and Asia. The number of container ships in the region plummeted in December, as shipping companies opted to use …

Host Felix Thompson is joined by senior reporters John Basquill and Eleanor Wragg, as well as reporters Jacob Atkins and Jenny Messenger, to discuss some of the most-read articles on the GTR news site this year. Insurance-related court disputes, the impact of Basel requirements on the trade finance industry, efforts to ban fossil fuel support withi…

In this episode of GTR Trade Insights, we explore how banks are developing working capital and supply chain finance (SCF) solutions to help clients manage a business environment defined by high-interest rates and inflation. Adoniro Cestari Neto, global head of trade product and structuring at Citi, explains how companies are adapting not only their…

In the latest episode of GTR Trade Insights, we speak with Peru’s minister of foreign trade and tourism, Juan Carlos Mathews, about the South American country’s ambitious plans to boost foreign investment in key export sectors and grow trade ties with the UK. In the interview, Mathews outlines Peru’s importance in supply chains for energy, mining a…

Host Felix Thompson is joined by reporter Jacob Atkins to discuss a recent Singapore court case involving JP Morgan and a coal trader, Kuvera Resources. Last year JP Morgan successfully fended off a lawsuit brought by Singapore’s Kuvera Resources, with a judge finding that the lender was entitled to decline payment for a US$2.4mn shipment of coal b…

In this episode of GTR Trade Insights, we explore the future of developing technologies and digital trade and speak with Valeria Sica, the managing director and head of Citi's global trade data, partnership and innovation team. Sica is at the forefront of trade finance innovation, and in this conversation outlines how Citi’s approach to trade trans…

In this episode of the GTR Trade Insights podcast, we speak to Chris Cox, Citi’s global head of trade and working capital solutions, about the future direction of trade and trade finance. In the discussion, Cox shares his insights on the post-pandemic trading environment, Citi’s key areas of focus in the trade space and the bank’s efforts and prior…

In this episode of the GTR Trade Insights podcast, we welcome an expert guest from J.P. Morgan to discuss how the focus of working capital has shifted once again amid an ever-more challenging global economic and financial landscape. Joining us in the discussion is James Fraser, global head of trade at J.P. Morgan, who provides an insight into corpo…

In this episode of the GTR Trade Insights podcast, we speak to two Citi experts about Israel, turning the conversation to the country’s trade prospects and the opportunities it presents to those looking to do business in a well-established hub of high-tech innovation. Kfeir Barkai, Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) at Citi in Israel, and O…

In this episode of the GTR Trade Insights podcast we turn our attention to Mexico, where a rise in nearshoring opportunities, the growing sophistication of manufacturing, and an alignment with social and environmental considerations are driving post-pandemic trade prospects. Joining us in the discussion are Andre Carvalho, Head of Trade, Latin Amer…

In this episode of the GTR Trade Insights podcast, we speak to two guests from Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions team about doing business in Kenya, a country that presents tremendous opportunities to companies looking to tap into its growing potential. In the discussion, Stewart Makura, Supply Chain Finance and Commodity Trade Finance Head, Sub-…

In this episode, we speak to Stuart Roberts, Managing Director and Global Head of Trade and Working Capital at J.P. Morgan, who shares his insights on some of the dominant narratives in trade and working capital finance today. The discussion touches on changes in technology and industry, the next steps for digitisation, and the rapidly evolving spa…

Host Felix Thompson is joined by senior reporters Eleanor Wragg and John Basquill, and reporter Jacob Atkins, to discuss some of the most-read articles on the GTR news site this year. The demise of supply chain finance giant Greensill has been one of the major stories over the past 12 months. In this episode, we consider the events that triggered t…

Over the last few decades, Vietnam has been transformed from one of the world’s poorest nations, emerging as a key destination for low-cost and high-technology manufacturing and sourcing. In this episode, we speak to three experts on Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions team about the factors driving this growth, including Vietnam’s appeal as a supp…

In this episode, we turn our attention to sustainable supply chains and supply chain financing and hear from BNP Paribas’ Viktor Ivanov, Head of Sustainability for Transaction Banking EMEA, and Bruno Lechevalier, Head of Supply Chain Management EMEA. The two share their insights on the intersection of supply chain finance and ESG objectives in the …

In this episode of the GTR Trade Insights podcast, we welcome two expert guests from HSBC to discuss the evolution of supply chain finance (SCF) from cash flow provision to social good, and how the tool can be used to provide increased access to finance while helping economies build back better. Joining us in the discussion are Andrew Robison, HSBC…

The focus of this episode is the growth of supply chain finance (SCF) in Canada, where an increasing number of companies are turning to SCF programmes to improve the efficiency of their cash conversion cycle, safeguard supplier relationships, and drive the ESG agenda. The episode features a conversation with John Landry, Managing Director, Treasury…

In this episode, we speak to Marie-Laurence Faure-Lepetit, Head of Digital Trade, and Alain Verschueren, Head of Innovation & DLT, at BNP Paribas’ Trade Finance Competence Centre, about their contributions to an article titled ‘The evolving landscape of bank-fintech partnerships’, which appears in the GTR Q3 issue. The conversation discusses the wa…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. The US government has signalled that banks face extra scrutiny over supply chains that include forced labour in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. Australia’s banks have defended their decision to exit the thermal coal sector, pushing back against s…

In this episode of the GTR Trade Insights podcast our focus is on Brazil, where longer-term economic gains could be on the horizon, given some of the structural changes that are happening across the country, including measures to create more open trade and investment regimes, reduce bureaucracy and lower import duties. Joining us in the discussion …

This GTR Trade Insights podcast features a conversation with two experts from HSBC, who talk about the urgency around trade digitisation, and the need for incremental changes in order to digitise trade from the inside out. Nick Hampton, HSBC’s regional head of services, global trade and receivables finance Europe, and Sibel Sirmagul, HSBC’s regiona…

In this episode of the GTR Trade Insights podcast, we speak to Pouya Jafari, vice-president for trade innovation at SMBC and recently appointed chairperson of the ITFA Emerging Leaders Initiative, about the ongoing talent gap in the trade finance industry. While there have been efforts from industry bodies to attract and nurture the next generation…

In this episode of the GTR Trade Insights podcast, we speak to the team at Citi about the factors that make the UAE a high growth market. Among these are its business-friendly environment, strategic location as a global trading hub, world-class infrastructure, and favourable government policies in promoting trade and investment, as discussed in thi…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office has an­n­ounced it is investigating potential fraudulent trading and money laundering at GFG Alliance. Environmental groups are urging the European Commission to exclude LNG and biofuels as sustainable alternatives for…

This GTR Trade Insights podcast features a conversation with Bruno Francois and Françoise Neuville, two BNP Paribas representatives, who provide an overview of some of the recent developments in the sustainable trade finance space, and the ways in which they’re seeing sustainability being embedded into clients’ business. The discussion – moderated …

In the first episode of the new GTR Trade Insights podcast, Mayank Gupta, Head of Trade, Treasury and Trade Solutions, South Asia at Citi, speaks to GTR’s editorial director Shannon Manders about the practicalities and complexities of doing business in India. In partnership with GTR, Citi has recently launched a series of articles aimed at companie…

In this short trailer we announce the launch of our latest podcast series, GTR Trade Insights. This new podcast brings to life feature articles published in the GTR magazine and on the GTR site, written either by one of our partners or by GTR’s in-house editorial team, and discussing some of the main trends in trade and trade finance. In these epis…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Legal challenges against Greensill are centring on its controversial future receivables financing product. French energy major Total has been forced to suspend operations at its liquified natural gas project in northern Mozambique for the second ti…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Industry insiders are hopeful that access to funding and insurance will remain resilient across the wider supply chain finance market, despite the disastrous collapse of London-based behemoth Greensill. Trade finance transactions on Triterras’ bloc…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Scandal-hit oil trader GP Global is seeking court intervention to stop creditors in Singapore “stealing a march” on banks that are owed millions of dollars. The Libyan central bank’s letter of credit system may have been exploited for “fraud on a l…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. After months of deadlocks, the World Trade Organization has named Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as its seventh director general. Global commodity trader Trafigura is set to secure a new sustainability-linked revolving credit facility as it works to…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. US authorities say companies in Iran are using forged shipping documents, vessel impersonation techniques and UAE-based front companies to circumvent sanctions and export oil. Singapore has become the second country after Bahrain to adopt into its …

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Rabobank plans to streamline its trade and commodity finance offering by terminating operations in London, Shanghai and Sydney, GTR can reveal. Pressure is mounting against fintech firm Triterras over the transactions taking place on its blockchain…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. British manufacturers say that adapting to a new trading relationship with the EU poses the greatest risk to their 2021 business plans, despite the two parties agreeing a last-gasp trade deal in late December. Bankers have told GTR that if the newl…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. International banks are being urged to cut ties to three meat trading companies in Brazil, after an anti-corruption investigation accused the trio of contributing to deforestation in the Amazon. As US President-elect Joe Biden readies to enter the …

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Singapore’s High Court has sided with Goodwood Associates in a dispute with another oil company over a missed US$1.5mn payment. In a new statement, development banks have pledged to change their trade finance activities to help achieve the UN’s sus…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Executives from Vitol and Trafigura have said their access to trade finance remains strong, despite bank nervousness following a string of fraud scandals in Singapore’s commodities sector. A new government inquiry has found that the Department for …

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Companies may be required to disclose details of their supply chain finance programmes, after an influential US standards-setting body agreed to examine investor concerns over a lack of transparency. US banks are more exposed to the financial risks…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Two Hong Kong-based oil traders say banks have reacted to the fraud scandal in Singapore’s commodities finance sector by restricting credit to the wider market, resulting in substantial financial losses. In other news, the risk of sovereign default…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. A new report from security think tank RUSI warns against a blanket approach to free trade zones, but says many risk exposing banks to trade-based money laundering, as well drugs, weapons and counterfeit goods trafficking. Oswald Kuyler, the newly a…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Blockchain trade finance initiative Contour has now left beta, bringing the decentralised, digital trade finance platform into full live production. UK businesses are largely optimistic about growth prospects over the medium term, with business con…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Payments network Swift has unveiled a dramatic overhaul of its infrastructure, which will see it expand its focus beyond financial messaging into end-to-end transaction management services. The Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (Baft) has r…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. According to new data, French financial institutions have the most robust policies in place when it comes to eliminating support for coal projects. A wide range of topics were discussed at the annual GTR Asia event, which was held virtually last we…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. HSBC says trade transaction volumes in Asia have reverted to 2019 levels over the past couple of months, leading to optimism for the prospects of a V-shaped post-pandemic recovery in the region. A new trade finance fund has been rolled out to help …

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. GTR has seen a review of disgraced oil trader Hin Leong’s activities and finances, carried out by interim judicial managers PwC. Submitted to Singapore courts in June, it paints a damning picture of a company that had become reliant on fraudulent t…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Damage to Beirut Port following last week’s explosion is disrupting vital food supply lines, while questions emerge over how a 2013 shipment of ammonium nitrate ended up in storage there. ABN Amro has announced it is ceasing all trade and commodity…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. Natixis has accused oil trader Sugih Energy of conspiring with scandal-hit trading house Hontop over fraudulent crude oil transactions in Singapore. A British government committee has launched a fresh inquiry into the activities of UK Export Financ…

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week. The UK’s top sanctions regulator has issued landmark guidance for all companies involved in maritime trade, instructing them to pay closer attention to vessel behaviour, company structures and potentially forged documents. According to a new report…