37th Annual Forfaiting Conference: Berlin 2010

More than ever before the emphasis of this year’s annual International Forfaiting Association conference will be to bring the market together and give participants better tools to do their jobs.

The conference takes place from the 8th to 10th September, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin, a stone’s throw from the City’s Brandenburg Gate. The highlight of the forfaiting calendar, there will be a distinctly practical flavour to many of the presentations, especially in light of the penalising effects on trade finance wrought by changes to its treatment under the Basel Accord.

Donna Alexander, CEO of BAFT-IFSA will bring her specific approach to trade finance, followed by ABC International Bank’s William Playle who will address the issue of how improved credit application work can be the key to effectively navigating the approval process. Bert de Jong of credit insurer Atradius will discuss the role of the ECAs and, together with a representative of a private insurance company will participate in a panel discussion with case studies.

Pursuing the practical theme, Silja Calac of Unicredit Bank AG will give a presentation on deal funding and pricing for forfaiters. Rabobank’s Ivar Cambridge will provide perspective on the commodity price boom and the credit crunch. In addition, there will be a presentation on the Basel treatment of trade and commodity finance products, a critical concern of banks preoccupied with the scarcity of capital and obtaining optimal returns on equity post crisis.

Other areas to be covered over the three days of the conference will include the question of whether the crisis affecting the financial sector is actually over. Ms. Victoire de Groote of BNP-Paribas-Fortis Bank will address this issue following her highly successful appearance at last year’s 10th anniversary conference in Rome. ITFA Deputy Chairman Sean Edwards will provide some in-depth perspective from the front line of the Kazakhstan restructuring process. There will be an update of the drafting of the joint ITFA – ICC Uniform Rules for Forfaiting.

The conference will also provide the platform for ITFA’s Annual General Meeting and the presentation of programmes by ITFA Board. In addition the conference as a whole will be preceded by the now traditional ITFA education seminar at the same venue on Tuesday and Wednesday 7th and 8th September.

“The thrust of this year’s conference,” explains ITFA Chairman Paolo Provera, “is more than ever before to provide delegates with presentations that will help them to improve the quality of the work that they do. We want to help our members to address some of the real problems that they face in their day-to-day business.”

This year’s annual conference will of course provide ample opportunity for forfaiters to get together and share ideas with friends and colleagues. In particular at the Conference Gala Dinner to be held on the evening of Thursday 9th September promises to live up to the tradition set by previous conference gala dinners. The Berlin conference is the can’t miss forfaiting event of the year.