Foreword

In this special edition of Trade & Forfaiting Review (TFR), we devote our cover story to the leading lights of trade finance with our third annual awards issue 2006. Congratulations to the winners and the highly commended. And thanks to all our readers who took the time to vote.

The TFR Awards are based on an online readers’ poll. This year, we canvassed more than 6,000 market players, requesting their ballot in 23 categories ranging from Best Structured Commodity Finance Bank to Best Sovereign Export Credit Agency. Awards were then made on the basis of the highest number of votes cast. However, where the results were exceptionally close, as was the case in one category, we made a joint award.

BNP Paribas swept the board again this year, winning three categories and coming close in a number of others. In fact, it received the most nominations overall. That said, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, ING, ABN Amro and Citigroup also demonstrated their strength with a healthy showing of votes across a range of classes. And, not to be outdone by frontrunner BNP Paribas, fellow French heavy hitters – Natexis Banques Populaires, Calyon and Société Générale – also pulled in strong support.

Elsewhere in this issue, we take a look at the rejuvenated forfaiting sector with insights from three market leaders: Piero Greco at WestLB (‘Market view’), Simon Lay at London Forfaiting Company (‘Breathing new life into forfaiting’) and DF Deutsche Forfait’s Marina Attawar (‘A tower of strength’). We also examine the steps multilaterals and development banks are taking to expand trade facilitation programmes in new markets (‘Developing new horizons’).

In our legal focus, Jonathan Solomon at Denton Wilde Sapte and Aida Avanessian of Torossian, Avanessian & Associates, assess how the tension between Iran and the West is affecting trade-finance business with the Middle Eastern nation (‘A political minefield’). This month, we also publish our second annual Global Contacts Directory – issued in partnership with Citigroup, which we hope you’ll find useful.

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions, or would like to contribute to a future issue of TFR, please contact me on mmartensen@ark-group.com. We welcome your feedback.

Michele Martensen, editor

Features

Iran: a political minefield Free
In light of the current political limbo between Iran and the West, what challenges do banks face when lending to Iranian borrowers? Jonathan Solomon, a partner in the structured trade finance group at Denton Wilde Sapte in London, and Aida Avanessian, a partner at Torossian, Avanessian & Associates in Tehran, debate the legal issues encountered on trade- finance deals and give commentary on their application under Iranian law and their treatment by the Iranian courts.

Developing new horizons Free
Multilaterals and development banks are realising their trade finance facilitation programmes aren’t working as well as they should. In recent months, many of these institutions have introduced innovations to – or downright reconstruction of – their finance programmes. Erika Morphy reports.

Breathing new life into forfaiting Free
As the forfaiting revival gathers momentum, Simon Lay, managing director of London Forfaiting Company, gives Trade & Forfaiting Review an insider’s view of the drivers behind the re-energised sector.

TFR Awards 2006: Industry players go head-to-head Free
The winners revealed: Trade & Forfaiting Review honours the top trade-finance names of 2006. This year's victors topped the polls across a number of categories ranging from Best Structured Trade & Export Finance Bank to Best Forfaiting Institution...

A tower of strength Free
After closing her very first forfait deal, Marina Attawar knew she had selected the right profession. Her subsequent choices affected more than her career though. And as a founding member of one of Germany’s oldest forfaiting companies, Attawar has helped push DF Deutsche Forfait to the forefront of the industry. Amanda Greene reports.

Regulars

Emerging market debt pricing Free
The Democratic Republic of Congo has seen an increasing flow of foreign direct investment during the past two years, mostly in the mining sector. The IMF and World Bank’s involvement in the country have led to serious preparations for a debt rescheduling and a debt buy-back process involving the country’s extensive defaulted trade debt. Meanwhile, an agreement has been reached on a final prepayment by Russia of all its Paris Club debt...

Prize open Free
Nominations for the prestigious TradeMag Awards are due any day now and management at SiloBank are keen to capture a trophy. Ace Banker takes the call…

Making documentary credits relevant for modern trade flows Free
Frank Bothe, director trade finance product management at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, argues that, for documentary trade finance to remain relevant in a market dominated by open account, trade financiers will need to adapt.

Letter from Hong Kong Free
While there are a number of insurance underwriters willing to look at China structured pre-export finance deals, there is still a lack of trust from bankers in Asia for these policies, writes David Sullivan, CEO of Trade Finance Corporation.

Market view: Piero Greco Free
Only a few years ago anything other than a letter of credit or a set of drafts was looked at with suspicion by the majority of forfaiting market players, reports Piero Greco, managing director of global forfaiting & EM loan trading at WestLB in London.