denotes premium content | Jan 6 2009 Trade & Forfaiting Review magazine archive
Volume 6 Issue 10
Editor's foreword
Industry players, forfaiters in particular, frequently tell me that they are tired of gushing profiles and fluff pieces in the trade-finance trade press – they want a realistic, warts-and-all depiction of the market. Most of all, they want to know, as one forfaiter told me recently, “who’s doing what to whom”. But passionate feedback from a recent controversial item in our newsletter suggests that readers both welcome and fear daring, critical news coverage.
In fact, while the market seems to be crying out for more balanced coverage, at the same time this development makes many people uncomfortable and, sometimes, downright angry. Banks that are used to receiving glowing coverage in the trade press don’t appreciate suddenly reading negative news or analysis about their activities, no matter how true it happens to be. And readers who want the real story on their rivals, not surprisingly, don’t always like the real story about themselves to come out.
This is a difficult path to take for a magazine like ours. After all, in a niche market, we would do ourselves no favours by alienating people. But as an established and independently owned publication, Trade & Forfaiting Review is best placed to provide the market with a truly independent voice – in a way that, for example, a publication part-owned by an industry player simply cannot. The question is: can the market handle it?
It is time for the trade-finance industry to decide what it wants from its trade press. Does it want vanity publishing or real, no-holds-barred journalism? If it wants the latter, it must be prepared to relinquish some control – which means no more spin, no more PR. And it means being able to take it on the chin even when the truth hurts. We welcome your views on this topic.
Features
In it for the long haul
The Turkish banking system has been through the wringer over the past few years. Economic rebound – and a recovery in bank reputation – may yet improve performance, Trevor Utting, head of research at the Moorgate Group in London, writes, but don’t hold your breath.
A deal by any other name
Does Turkey have structured trade finance? That depends on how one defines the term, writes Mehmet Saydam, head of structured trade finance for GarantiBank International in Amsterdam. A few recent deals have some elements of it, but not many fit a strict definition.
Outward bound
Faced with a limited domestic market, Dutch banks have traditionally looked overseas and across borders for trade-finance opportunities. Courtney Fingar reports on where they’re finding success today, and where they believe tomorrow’s opportunities lie.
A sweet deal?
It’s that time of year again, and the Ghana cocoa deal has been done. As Layisha Laypang reports, trade financiers still have a taste for Ghana cocoa but a supply crunch is causing Cocobod some headaches.
Banking and beliefs
Anything related to religion is usually approached with either passion or aversion, which explains the many misconceptions about Islamic banking. However, Pervez Said, vice president and business manager, Islamic banking at MashreqBank in Dubai, argues that Islamic banking is about banking, not Islam, and is emerging as a promising financial option for trade-finance banks.
Taming the machine
Is the tail wagging the dog when it comes to trade-finance technology? That’s the question posed by Andrea Chen, regional head of Greater China and the Philippines at Deutsche Bank Global Trade Finance.
The commoditisation of commodities
Amid changing business conditions, commodities companies require new alternatives for trade finance and risk mitigation. As new market dynamics make it less attractive to use traditional instruments like LCs, banks must find creative ways to partner with commodities clients to provide continued support, writes Asif Raza, vice president of JPMorgan Treasury Services in New York.
Regulars
Personal profile: Sex matters
Is trade finance a boys’ club? Perhaps, but determined women can, and do, succeed in the industry. Courtney Fingar speaks to a few who have.
LTP Trade Finance Index: Libor rates on the rise
The LTP Trade Finance IndexTM rose 0.26% during July. Over the month, the average credit margin has continued to fall; however, the rise in one-year Libor rates has all but offset these gains.
Indicative forfaiting rates
The analysis from Standard Bank London:
Coface country-ratings update
Accessible free of charge via www.cofacerating.com, this service provides regularly updated ratings for 140 of the world’s most important trading nations and aims to help companies find out where they can trade safely in the world.
