Trade Finance Global (TFG) joins TFD Initiative as a non-bank originator

We are delighted to welcome Trade Finance Global (TFG) to the Trade Finance Distribution (TFD) Initiative as a non-bank originator.

From banks to asset managers, brokers and insurers, TFG aims to work with members of the TFD Initiative to pursue its vision of trade finance without barriers.

Mark Abrams, head of trade and receivables finance at TFG, said: “At TFG we originate trade and receivables finance opportunities globally, and we are always interested in broadening our base of liquidity providers (FIs, funds, and institutional investors), as demand has only increased during the pandemic.

“We look forward to working with the TFD Initiative to explore new partnerships and structures for collaboration.”

The TFD Initiative was launched in 2019, with the goal of closing the global trade finance gap. At the time, the trade finance gap stood at $1.5 trillion, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Since then, due to a number of factors including the COVID-19 pandemic, the trade finance gap has swelled to a new high of $1.7 trillion. Seeing the clear and urgent need for greater access to trade finance, the TFD Initiative aims to close this gap by promoting greater participation from institutional investors, and greater collaboration between industry stakeholders.

The TFD Initiative establishes a many-to-many ecosystem that aims to bring more liquidity from capital markets into trade finance as an asset class. By allowing institutional investors to connect with originators, brokers, banks, and financial institutions in a multilateral way, the TFD Initiative enables notes and tokens to be issued, thus opening the asset class to a wider pool.

André Casterman, Chairman of the Fintech Committee at ITFA, said the TFD Initiative has gathered the largest community of originators and investors committed to establishing trade finance as an investable asset class.

“We did so by delivering the most comprehensive technology stack for trade originators to deal with institutional investors in the most efficient way,” said Casterman.

Discover the full TFG press release here.