CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE – Sean Edwards, ITFA Chairman / Head of Legal and Special Adviser to the Global Trade Finance Department at SMBC, Apr 2023

Dear Members and Friends,

I hope this newsletter finds you all well. As we continue to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of trade finance, I am pleased to share with you some of the latest developments and initiatives at ITFA.

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the Super Early Bird registration for our annual conference will expire on April 30th. This is a great opportunity to secure your spot at the conference while taking advantage of significant savings. As always, the conference promises to be a stimulating event, with expert speakers and discussions on the latest developments and trends in trade finance. Please click here to register. We hope to see you there! 

Sticking with the conference, I want to express my gratitude to our burgeoning group of sponsors for their generous support. Your contribution is invaluable in helping us achieve our mission and create more value for our members. There are still a number of sponsorship opportunities available. Please refer to our latest sponsorship brochure, Sponsorship Opportunities, or email us at info@itfa.org if you require further information. 

Thank you again for your support!

On the events front, while April was a relatively quiet month, with only one, albeit very successful, event held in Singapore, May is set to be an exciting month with two ITFA major events taking centre stage. Our US Regional Conference and the NERC Spring Cocktail are the highlights of the month offering our members unique opportunities to network and learn in a dynamic setting. 

I am also thrilled to announce that ITFA, in partnership with EBRD TFP, will be hosting a seminar in Uzbekistan for the very first time. The seminar will focus on modernising traditional trade and letters of credit and will include an introduction to supply chain finance.  In addition to our in-person events, we are also excited to offer a series of informative webinars throughout the month. More can be found here or follow us on Linkedin. 

May I also kindly refer to our recent ESG survey. This has received a fantastic response from our members but the more responses we get the more representative will be our output. The results of this survey will be used to shape our ESG agenda and help us create more value for our members in this increasingly important area. A webinar is already set for 22nd May. Click here for registration.

In this April edition of the ITFA Newsletter you can read about ITFA’s responses to the proposed UK Basel reforms, Demica’s 2023 Benchmark Report for Bank in Trade finance together with an update on ITFA’s ESG research and upcoming webinar, our new member PANGEA-RISK’s article about how to chart a new course out of the African debt crises and, last but not least, about ITFA’s successful educational event held in March in Madrid.

Finally, we are pleased to announce that Crescendo Asset Management, LLC, Macquarie Group Limited (Macquarie), PANGEA-RISK, Recovery Advisers and Scotiabank have joined the ITFA family. On behalf of my fellow board members as well as our members, I extend a warm welcome to each of them and look forward to their active participation in the ITFA community.

As always, we welcome your feedback and encourage you to share any thoughts or suggestions you may have with us. You can do so by emailing me, any of the Board Members, or our general email at info@itfa.org. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes

Sean Edwards