THE VOICES FROM OUR REGIONS, November 2024

ITFA Emerging Leaders Event, Frankfurt, Germany, held on 25 September, 2024

Contributed by Adriana Cano Buchholtz, Member of the ITFA Emerging Leaders Committee, September 2024

On September 25th, we hosted the inaugural Emerging Leaders event in Frankfurt, Germany, in collaboration with ITFA. With 30 attendees, the gathering attracted a diverse group of professionals, from those early in their careers to seasoned experts, all united by a strong interest in trade finance.

The event opened with an informative introduction to ITFA by Silja Calac, followed by Adriana Cano Buchholz’s overview of the Emerging Leaders initiative. Gregor Mihelac, this year’s Emerging Leaders Award winner, delivered an engaging presentation on trade finance products, offering valuable insights to all present.

We were grateful to Banco Santander for providing an excellent venue, creating an ideal setting for networking and learning.

This event marks the beginning of a series dedicated to fostering growth and collaboration among the next generation of trade finance professionals.

ITFA Americas – Risk Mitigation Tools for Trade Finance – São Paulo, Brazil, held on 23 October 2024

Contributed by ITFA Americas Chapter, October 2024

On October 23, ITFA Americas hosted an outstanding event in Brazil—the first in about six years. The evening was a great success, with highly positive feedback, and the panel was expertly led by Domicio, Fred, Larissa, and the other speakers, following a warm introduction by Agnes on behalf of ITFA. Despite the heavy rain, we welcomed approximately 55 attendees from around 30 different companies, including a significant number of banks. The turnout might have been even higher in better weather!

The discussion centred around pressing topics in risk mitigation within trade finance, with a natural focus on Credit Insurance. Key themes included capital relief, cut-through clauses, and incentives for banks to adopt insurance solutions. Other important issues, such as the execution of guarantees in a complex legal and economic environment, bank syndication, advances, and more, were also covered.

Emerging Leaders Event – Networking Happy Hour, Chicago, 19 November 2024

Contributed by the Emerging Leaders Committee, November 2024

On November 19, the ITFA Emerging Leaders Committee hosted a vibrant networking event in Chicago, bringing together professionals from across the trade finance and credit insurance industries.  The event featured a reception that helped fostered connections among peers and industry leaders based in Chicago in an informal and engaging setting.  Thank you to all who participated and helped make this event a success, including Samantha Ruben of Dentons US LLP, the Emerging Leaders’ Chicago Ambassador.

The second annual ITFA supply chain summit: insights and highlights – November 2024

Contributed by Damian Kwok, Chair of ITFA ANZRC, 23 October 2024

The second annual ITFA Supply Chain Summit which was held in Sydney last week, brought together key industry players for an engaging day of discussion and collaboration. With 86 attendees from 43 organization, including banks, insurers, fintechs, and customers, provided a dynamic platform for exploring the evolving landscape of supply chains.

The quality of the speakers was exceptional, and feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive. Here are some highlights:

• Trade Digitalisation Panel: Featuring Simone, Cameron Peter, and Sean White from fintech XDC, this discussion explored tokenization and the shift from “why” to the more complex phase of “interoperability.”  Cameron provided some interesting insights as to how Australia is lagging global standards.  A need for Governments to push this agenda so their recent initiatives are stepping in the right direction (ANZ is heavily involved in these).
• Supply Chain Disruption by AON: AON’s presentation shed light on the rapid evolution of supply chains. Food for thought is that this is prompting changes in what services customers need.  For example, as an insurance company, AON has seen updated take-up in products like parametric insurance.  This is trigger or parameter based as opposed to single situation insurance.  This reflects changing dynamics in supply chains whereby different risks need to be merged
• AI Frameworks by Bryony Evans (KWM): The discussion was not about the use cases/technology, but required frameworks that will need to be introduced to as applications become more scaled.  This could include regulation and internal governance frameworks – for example some corporate are establishing committees or appointing dedicated AI officers.

A key thought from the summit was that what we once considered “one-off” events, such as COVID or evolving geopolitical challenge, now represent the new “normal”. While this shift presents opportunities for our customers, it also brings complexity, highlighting the importance of understanding supply chain dynamics.

Trade is more dynamic than ever, and events like this underscore why it remains an exciting and crucial industry to be part of.