Announcing the ITFA conference speakers in Budapest – TFD Initiative Working Group Meeting

As we will gather in Budapest for the ITFA 46th Annual Trade and Forfaiting Conference, the ITFA Board is delighted to announce that André Casterman, ITFA Fintech Committee and Christoph Gugelmann, Founder and CEO at Tradeteq will be moderating the TFD Initiative working group meeting entitled “Distribution Standards, Notes Issuance Process and Networking Digitally”.

The session will explore the evolution of the trade distribution market. Focus will be on understanding the needs around the distribution of open account assets such as payables and receivables, and the opportunity for originators to involve institutional investors in this space.

How can technology as well as regulated securities practices help trade originators expand their balance sheet management strategies? What is required for the secondary market to scale, so as to enable originators to move to an originate-and-distribute model? How do institutional investors expect from trade originators? Would new industry standards help scale the market? Participants will hear from trade originators involved in the TFD Initiative and be able to assess the opportunity to join this industry effort.

A first panel will debate the needs of the distribution market, the future of the TFD Initiative and how further industry-level collaboration can help transform the market. A second panel will report on the experience of early adopters around end-to-end note issuance for trade assets, onboarding of a new fintech and the execution a proof of concept.

In addition to André Casterman and Sean Edwards, the confirmed contributors to this working group session are as follows (in alphabetical order):

Zubin Bagwadia is the Global Head of Business Development for Financial Institutions, Public Sector and Distribution, Global Trade & Receivables, HSBC. He is an experienced banker having spent 20 years with HSBC in various leadership roles across Trade Finance, Metals Trading & Retail Banking in India, Indonesia and London. Prior to this role, Zubin was the Global Head of Sales Commercial Banking, Global Trade & Receivables Finance, HSBC. He has a degree with specialisation in Political Science and Sociology.

Christoph Gugelmann is the co-founder and CEO of Tradeteq Limited. He previously was a portfolio manager at the Trafigura owned Galena Asset Management in Geneva. Prior to that he was a managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he headed all public and private side market solutions teams for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to that he held various management positions at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in London, Frankfurt, and New York. He graduated in finance and business administration from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, in 1996.

Tradeteq provides the market network for trade finance investors and originators to connect, interact, and transact. Tradeteq delivers AI-powered credit analytics, workflow management, and investment automation. Tradeteq transforms trade finance assets into transparent and scalable investments.

Theo Korver is Managing Director, Global Head of Balance Sheet Distribution, Wholesale Banking / Balance Sheet Management at ING. Theo joined the ING WB Balance Management team in March 2017, being responsible for Balance Sheet Distribution. The Balance Sheet Management team is a board led initiative, allowing ING to build an infrastructure to share its proven loan origination platform. The mandate is bank wide focusing on both Retail and Wholesale Bank assets.

Prior to joining the Balance Sheet Management team, Theo worked for 7 years within ING Financial Markets. First starting as the Manager Business Development of FM Sales, followed by 3.5 years a Global Head of FM Client Solutions Group, being responsible for all Client Derivatives Sales and Structuring teams focusing on Rates, FX Options and Commodity Derivatives for both Corporate and Financial Institution Clients. Prior to joining ING in 2010, Theo worked 14 years for ABN AMRO in Transaction Services and Financial Markets departments holding different management roles in Sales, Management Consulting, Structuring in Amsterdam, London and Singapore. Theo holds a Msc Business Economics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and is Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) with the Global Association of Risk Professionals.

Damian Kwok is an international banker with experience working in Australia, New Zealand, London, Japan and Korea.  Over this time, Damian has held senior Management, Coverage, Origination and Risk roles in both ANZ and Barclays Capital focusing on Institutional Banking.  Damian also actively participates in the community having held Chairman and Treasurer roles in a variety of business associations.  In his current role in ANZ, Damian oversees the Trade Portfolio Management Team which manages the composition and shape of the balance sheet through secondary distribution, secondary asset acquisition and capital optimisation.  In addition to this, Damian has oversight for the Trade and Supply Chain Finance business in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

Vipin Vashishtha heads Standard Chartered Bank’s Trade Asset Sales & Syndications global team, focussed on transforming the distribution of trade finance assets to banks and alternative investors. Vipin has extensive experience in Trade Finance space through leadership roles across Trade Distribution, Products, Strategy, Technology and Operations. He also carries strong understanding of clients and businesses from his earlier stints in Corporate and Strategy consulting world, covering a wide set of industries such as Financial Services, Technology, Automotive, Oil & Gas, Logistics, FMCG. Vipin holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

We look forward to welcoming many of you on Friday September 6^th in Budapest and invite you to consult the TFD Initiative white paper entitled “The end of balance sheet lending?” in the meantime.