http://www.tfreview.com/ The latest headlines and articles Trade & Forfaiting Review Magazine (c) 2010, Ark Group Ltd. All rights reserved. http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=2F96FDAF-2CDA-4DA1-8542-42D77C295114 The Award for the Best Trade Bank in the World was, predictably, fiercely contested by a number of big-name banks, but JP Morgan came out on top, despite a strong challenge from BNY Mellon. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=25D682AA-06E7-4689-B15A-504E3E16546A SmartStream’s Eric VanSteen examines the key factors driving investment in trade finance automation and integration. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=9A3AED52-62DB-414B-8D16-7113EC1B08B9 This year’s IFA Annual Conference will be in Berlin, a stone’s throw from the famous Brandenburg Gate. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=BF061538-8536-4168-91F3-420605D999FB There is probably no bank in the world more closely associated with soft commodities than Rabobank – and with little wonder, given that the bank has its roots in food and agriculture. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=72ADA190-6CE0-4F5D-AEF9-46BDCC354C68 After last year’s impressive haul in the TFR Awards, this year’s sole win as the Best Bank in Structured Trade Finance may seem less impressive, but nevertheless sums up Deutsche Bank’s greatest strength. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=BEE06D62-6349-404D-8ED8-0E96D2DF9389 There are few banks more closely associated with metals and minerals than ING, which is no surprise given how comprehensively the bank, as a whole, covers the sector. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=99BE6DE7-7EA8-413C-BAAA-DD8AC640E037 In the first SWIFT scene column, Nicola Boothby analyses the drivers of change that have led to a recent renaissance in the trade and supply chain business. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=A0FDFE37-02FB-4CA7-8862-0DA7141743D7 Africa is often cited as the continent of the future with respect to trade finance, with some cynics suggesting that it always will be. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=AEC244B3-BFE2-494E-BDC4-746A37D1F58A HSBC arguably enjoys the best of all worlds, with its strong presence straddling North America, Europe and Asia – and, especially, China. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=C4CB6914-5E2F-4509-B3AA-E3FD0A3E359E The battle for the Award of Best Trade Bank in the Middle East is always an intriguing one. In recent years, Trade Bank of Iraq has carried it off. Yet increasing prosperity across the Middle East has brought to the fore more contenders. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=18C26F81-BB9A-4D2E-AE3D-9CE28D7FE197 When the economy goes pear-shaped, it is always the big investments that get cut first. And given the major commitment required to implement new software, it is little surprise that this is often one of the first areas that a bank will looking to for savings. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=431CE6C9-DA54-464E-9397-BA208CBD87A7 It’s a traditional assumption that when an economy falls into recession, demand for factoring increases, and declines as recovery gathers pace. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=C93EE429-CEF2-4363-B482-3EFDBEFD562F UniCredit may not be the best-known name in forfaiting, but it has served the forfaiting needs of both corporates and financial institutions across Eastern and Western Europe for many years. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=DAAAC3E3-9896-4D11-95D4-862543A7073E It is easy to forget that the most important economic zone in the world remains North America. After all, the US alone – the ‘engine of the world economy’ – accounts for one-fifth of global output and what US banks do today can make a big difference to the world’s prosperity. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=27BBF208-7A07-4450-B3B7-D0FF37D4E630 BBVA is perennially the one to beat in Latin America – winner of the TFR Award for the Best Trade Bank in Latin America for the past six years. And its emphatic win this year reflects how the bank has enjoyed ‘a good financial crisis’. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=F14C0C9B-D8A0-4E31-9621-856AFEE66591 No one should be fooled by London Forfaiting Company’s name. While it did, indeed, make its reputation with a focus on forfaiting, under FIMBank’s ownership it has become a much broader business. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=FF9CAB38-434E-4953-A510-585097E55B6B Over the past two years, the market has seen an understandable flight to quality. And what better quality investment could there be than in oil and energy? 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=416068D4-0ED7-4C12-A6A5-0A7A633ED1C4 Could there be any more secure form of employment than lawyer in trade finance? Trade may occasionally slow down, but it never stops. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=B258AB99-2FB5-4998-A802-7F0EA2A9F4C5 The year 2009 was the year of export finance, when banks’ export finance departments really kept the wheels of trade turning after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=4741FFBA-13A6-4E42-AFC2-C73DFCBA94C9 It must be every CEO’s worst nightmare: to wake up one morning and find that all their customers have gone. While that didn’t quite happen following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the fall in trade certainly did present a challenge to exporters. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=3AB3B68A-1A2C-4291-BF0D-A84D3C882DC4 This award has traditionally been battled out between JP Morgan and BNY Mellon – with JP Morgan just having the edge in the previous two years. So this big win for BNY Mellon will be all the sweeter. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=74AA23A3-5246-46F9-A027-C0038F377E3A While some groups may dominate the trade services market globally, there remain many major banking organisations with equally well-regarded trade services offerings. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=E7C71C04-1C6D-471F-AAA7-B9569A320415 Eastern Europe was one of the regions hit hardest by the financial crisis. However, with the support of the EBRD and banks such as UniCredit, the lifeblood of trade was kept flowing. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=E104FDA0-1E03-48F1-85A5-59BCCA276A00 It takes something particularly special to win the Award for Best Bank for Supply Chain Finance from BNY Mellon, but since Wells Fargo’s merger with Wachovia, the bank has been gaining traction across the world, particularly in supply chain finance. 22 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=96BCF409-E318-4957-963C-75A7B9EF688C No branch of government did more to keep the wheels of trade turning than ECAs and with Germany among the world’s largest exporters, the response of the German Export Credit Guarantee Scheme was pivotal. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=5C222428-13EE-4F22-BDB0-A1CDFF3092C1 This time last year, the trade credit and political risk insurance market was as uncertain as any within the broad trade finance world. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=30729426-BDD0-4DAA-AB06-A88257F791D7 The year 2009 was not of vintage quality for trade credit and political risk insurers. Not surprisingly, claims went through the roof, some no doubt mulled quitting the market altogether. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=E9C1F5E2-CFEE-4DD3-A2B9-BC4AE9CD8E87 ICICI Bank is the fourth largest bank in India by assets, but its largest by market capitalisation. It is also, arguably, its most high profile and most ambitious. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=3E3C6B98-5E15-43D2-95D9-6ED9E99ED618 The robust pace of growth of the Russian economy during 2010 is arguably one of the success stories of the past year. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=36FED8ED-C6C1-4662-8E38-4F3C47D81387 Was it really just five years ago when, in the run-up to the Bank of China’s initial public offering, RBS took a $3.1bn stake in the bank, equivalent to a shareholding of about 10%? 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=B3CCF502-478A-4764-955E-73A92EFD39EC Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, just as global trade was starting to crumble Brazil’s Banco Itaú was completing a chunky $12.5bn merger with local rival Unibanco. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=00C0C1D3-D5C2-478F-B510-13B882CDE0CC The Award for Best Developmental Financial Institution is one of the few that almost seems to be reserved for EBRD. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=4A985F96-7C38-4E43-BCBD-4E3927AC97FD New sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council on 9 June could present trade partners and investors in Iran with considerable uncertainty. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=24E760C9-A8CD-449B-8652-C7DF94F44A27 Kimberly Wiehl, Secretary-General, Berne Union looks back on a tumultuous year in trade. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=0DC7AD02-FA76-4346-AD1C-AF84584C9905 Austerity is breaking out in Europe, as indebted states line up in a beauty contest to keep their credit lines open and their credit ratings up. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=09DB727A-B72D-41FE-A385-96593704BFC8 How easily does forfaiting fit into Islamic trade finance, asks Richard Willsher. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=426AB68A-70FC-48F4-B6B2-CBAC3EAF09E1 Emerging market debt pricing figures from Omni Bridgeway. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=AA08D80D-57BE-4FCE-B1D6-D5BBEEBED73D We have seen a continuation of price reductions in the private insurance market over the past month, including Turkey, China, Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya, Brazil, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=C099CB7E-842B-49C5-8E0C-9EB7A82445C6 Ricky Kaura has been promoted to regional head for JP Morgan Treasury Services, covering Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. 27 July 2010 http://www.tfreview.com/display.asp?articleid=F7810B6B-565F-4393-AC72-0331BBBA08D6 Simon Jones, Steven Mulder, Sonja Schoentag and Stephen Au have been appointed to senior management roles within ANZ’s global Structured Asset and Export Finance team. 27 July 2010