Successful Educational Event in Belgrade

Successful Educational Event in Belgrade

On the 17th of April, the ITFA Board in association with Marfin Factors & Forfaiters and Real Factors Serbia, organized an Educational Event held in Grand Casino Belgrade, by the river Danube.
The event proved really successful, with more than 50 professionals registered, mainly from the local market, representing local and regional Banks, financial service companies, exporters, the Ministries of Finance and Energy, the National Bank of Serbia and the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce; all gathered to be informed about the Forfaiting product and the benefits it could bring to the local economy.

ITFA Chairman and deputy Chairman, Paolo Provera and Sean Edwards and fellow Board Member Demetris Zouzoukis, together with Mrss. Silja Calac and Elvira Bobillo introduced to the local institutions the advantages, features and techniques of forfaiting, a vital part of the process to bring the Forfaiting industry to that part of the world.

Naturally enough, the day began with an explanation of the basics of the industry, dispensed by Paolo Provera to an appreciative group of listeners. Following that, Sean Edwards gave a presentation on the Uniform Rules for Forfaiting (URF), giving useful answers on documentation issues, especially for potential new entrants in this industry. Having covered the documentation issue, Elvira Bobillo set out and explained through case studies, the operation of the different pricing formulae. The mysteries of how to get to, and work out, the bottom line were lucidly explained. Pricing of a different sort was the subject of Silja Calac’s presentation on internal pricing models and the need to reflect the cost of risk capital, under Basel III. Having covered all these aspects of the Forfaiting product, Demetris Zouzoukis provided the Serbian audience with insight into the main differences between forfaiting and factoring products, which many people confuse, since both products are reliant on sales’ receivables.