At the BAFT Europe Bank to Bank Forum, experts from across the industry discussed the future of banking and trade finance during the “Accelerating the Use of Electronic Trade Documents” session. The panel discussed the role of UNCITRAL’s Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) in supporting the regulatory environment for digital trade. Hear more from Luca Castellani, one of the panelists from UNCITRAL on advancing MLETR in 2023.
The 2022 TFG International Trade Awards were awarded at the 2022 BAFT Global Annual Meeting covering seven global categories, seven markets, six specialist categories, and two individual categories.
LONDON/WASHINGTON –Trade Finance Global (TFG) announces the winners of the 2022 International Trade Awards in cooperation with BAFT. Now in its sixth year running, the TFG International Trade Awards 2022 recognize those who have provided an outstanding contribution to global trade and finance.
This year’s winners were announced at BAFT’s 2022 Global Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on May 4. BAFT would like to congratulate this year’s winners.
TFG would like to thank all nominations for all 22 categories across seven different markets, and 18 judges of the steering committee for what was a challenging judging process. TFG takes great pride in making the awards as impartial as possible.
Mark Abrams, Head of Trade Finance, TFG said:
“We are proud to award outstanding companies and individuals for their contribution to the trade finance industry over the past 12 months, which have been far from normal.”
“Now in its 6th year running, we’re delighted to collaborate with BAFT and would like to thank our independent steering committee for their time and efforts in running the rigorous judging process.”
Scott Stevenson, Senior Vice President of Trade, BAFT said:
“BAFT is extremely honored to be taking part in this year’s TFG International Trade Awards and appreciates the opportunity to recognize industry leaders in trade, supply chain and receivables finance.”
TFG Media Contact:
Deepesh Patel
Director, Partnerships and Marketing
[email protected]
+44 (0) 750 739 8018
Announced at the 2022 Global Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on May 3, BAFT is pleased to recognize the following individuals for their tireless commitment and contribution to the success of association and its work.
To publicly acknowledge individuals from member organizations who have volunteered their time and worked tirelessly with the association throughout the prior association calendar year, BAFT annually awards select members with the BAFT Ambassador of the Year Award.
Ambassadors of the Year are individuals representing member organizations recognized by BAFT on an annual basis. Following nomination submissions, annual honorees are chosen following a weighted voting process by BAFT staff.
Officially announced at the 2022 Global Annual Meeting, BAFT is honored to recognize the following individuals for the invaluable assistance they have provided to the association throughout the past year and for helping to continually drive the mission and vision of the organization forward.
We would like to thank each of the awardees for their time and recognize their organization’s commitment to the advancement of transaction banking. Each honoree has been recognized respectively for their contributions to the advancement of sustainability and support of the association’s work in the Middle East; leadership in the LIBOR Transition Working Group and Future Leaders Program; and development of BAFT education and training programs.
Honorees received their official awards at the BAFT Ambassador of the Year awardee ceremony in Washington, DC on May 3, 2022.
Montserrat Premier and Members of the Caribbean Association of Banks to Discuss Banking on Visit to the U.S. at the 2022 BAFT Global Annual Meeting.
MONTSERRAT/WASHINGTON – The Premier of Montserrat, Hon. Joseph E Farrell will be on overseas duty from April 23 to May 5, 2022 as he will be attending meetings in Miami and Washington, DC.
Premier Farrell, whose portfolio includes Tourism, will attend the Seatrade Cruise Global Conference in Miami Beach, Florida from Monday April 25 to Thursday April 28, 2022. His delegation will include the Director of Tourism, Rosetta West-Gerald; Project Manager at the Tourism Division, Charlesworth Phillip and Private Sector Representative, Tour Operator, Roselyn Cassell-Sealey.
In addition to their attendance at the conference which includes workshops, the Montserrat delegation will also attend meetings with several cruise liners and will have an opportunity to display Montserrat branded collateral during the Expo which runs from April 26 to 28. The Montserrat Port Development project will also be highlighted during the week long activities.
Following this meeting, the Premier & Minister of Finance will travel to Washington, DC for the May 1-4, 2022 BAFT Global Annual Meeting.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for the Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) Member Banks to network with North American banks at the largest correspondent banking event in the United States where industry professionals will be able to network, conduct bilateral meetings, and engage in topical discussions and sessions on the global transaction banking industry.
There will also be a Caribbean Banking Roundtable hosted on May 2, 2022 where BAFT and CAB will convene a group of Caribbean and U.S. Banks along with respective governments together in one room to discuss challenges in correspondent banking for the Caribbean community and opportunities to engage with North American banks.
BAFT Media Contact:
Blair Bernstein
Director, Public Relations
[email protected]
+1 (202) 663-5468
Follow Us: @BAFT
Now in its sixth year running, the TFG International Trade Awards 2022, in cooperation with BAFT, recognize those who have provided an outstanding contribution to global trade and finance.
London, UK – Nominations for the Trade Finance Global International Trade Awards 2022, in cooperation with BAFT, are now open.
Award winners are recognized for their outstanding contributions to global trade and finance. Now in its sixth year running, the annual TFG Awards are presented to businesses and service providers in trade, supply chain, and receivables finance. The TFG Awards logo is used as a badge of excellence in both the intermediary (B2B) and direct (B2C) markets.
This year, Trade Finance Global (TFG) is announcing the winners at the 2022 BAFT Global Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on May 4, 2022.
The TFG Steering Committee is made up of experts and leaders from all areas of trade, including finance, technology, policy, and governance. Members of the steering committee will provide their impartial views to TFG’s leading annual awards campaign that aims to promote inclusive trade as a force for good.
Find out more about the awards and nominate yourself or a company here.
The war for talent has never been greater, as many people have reassessed their lives and work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Transaction banking’s digital transformation, as well as its role in supporting the real economy, may give the industry an edge in attracting and retaining staff.
The changing image of transaction banking – often seen as less glamorous and exciting than investment banking – is helping the industry appeal to new talent, according to panelists at industry association BAFT’s Virtual Europe Bank to Bank Forum.
Speaking on a panel entitled ‘The way we work post-Covid-19: attracting and retaining talent in transaction banking’, participants highlighted how the industry is at the forefront of innovation, making it a complex and stimulating environment. Additionally, transaction banking’s role in supporting economic growth – through cross-border payments and trade finance – is proving attractive to those wanting to make a positive contribution to wider society.
“While transaction banking is the foundation of the core product offering, it is also at the heart of the digital disruption and close to the real economy,” said Maria Chiara Manzoni, head of corporate and investment banking (CIB) people and culture strategic partner, CIB process and operational excellence at UniCredit. “As an industry, we need to communicate even more effectively to illustrate how diverse and dynamic transaction banking is.”
“It’s clearly an exciting time for transaction banking, which presents many opportunities for transformation,” added Emma Dunlop, vice-president and global head of human resources, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Investor and Treasury Services. She believes that demonstrating how it can link to the purpose of supporting the real economy, ESG or international trade could be a real differentiator for transaction banking. “Employees are seeking opportunities to align their personal purpose and values to an organization’s or to the work that they do. This is an opportunity for transaction banking leaders to promote and harness that thinking,” she said.
Both agreed that digital skills are essential when recruiting in transaction banking. “[For example] how artificial intelligence is changing how we process information and data – this is crucial for our people to understand. [We are looking for] more hybrid profiles, with experience in banking, fintechs and digital platforms, as well as business acumen, digital literacy and high-end skills,” said Manzoni.
The bank also looks for a vast array of soft and hard skills, she added. “For a big transformation, there are some personal characteristics that UniCredit looks for in our talent, such as accountability and constructive criticism. In one word, we’re looking for courage – the courage to take some risks but also flag when we’re taking the wrong turn,” she said.
“Data and digital literacy have been a huge focus for our future skills agenda, as we look to accelerate digitization of manual processes,” said Dunlop. “However, as mentioned, digital skills are only one aspect and it can’t replace some of those customer-facing human-centric skills that are fundamental to transaction banking, which is a very relationship-based business. We want resilience, as well as problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and financial and commercial acumen.”
Dunlop reports that RBC recruits from different sectors, such as technology firms and fintech start-ups, not solely from other banks. “There many different players that banks are working with, which is far more common now than in the past. We need to look at that as an opportunity for internal talent to collaborate and learn from other players in the market,” she said, adding that this helps with retention efforts. While RBC is focused on talent development and internal mobility, it also looks in the market or to partnerships to supplement staff skills sets.
During the pandemic, the number of fintech collaborations with transaction banks have increased, according to Tarun Khosla, head of trade and working capital loans, Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Citi. In trade finance, for example, transaction banks are working closely with fintechs to develop digital solutions – “basically co-creating solutions”. He believes that this engagement is also resulting in the movement of talent between fintechs and transaction banks and vice versa. “When we are working on a holistic solution design, the traditional boundaries melt away,” he added.
Another conference panel, ‘Fintech venture experience: sitting on the same side of the table’, showcased two successful bank-fintech partnerships: Barclays and SparkChange, which provides specialist carbon investment products; and Société Générale (SocGen) and Treezor, a banking-as-a-service platform.
There are numerous reasons for a bank to partner with a fintech, such as providing specialist capabilities that the bank doesn’t have internally, as in Barclays’s case, or enabling a faster time to market, as in SocGen’s case.
From the fintech’s perspective, a bank can help validate its business or product proposal, provide investment (SocGen acquired Treezor in 2019; Barclays led SparkChange’s $4.5m funding round in late 2020), as well as act as a dedicated sales and distribution partner, an advocate and a marketing machine.
But fintechs still have a difficult time accessing the right people within the bank. That is why SparkChange joined the Barclays accelerator program. “We partnered with Barclays [three years ago] because we heard good things about its accelerator program and found them to be very accessible and progressive in their views towards working with start-ups,” said Joff Hamilton-Dick, founder of SparkChange.
Additionally, the onboarding process remains onerous. “We had to overcome some pain points when we [started working] with SocGen in terms of compliance, security, best practice, processes, etc.,” said Éric Lassus, co-founder, CEO, Treezor. But once it is completed, this can be a competitive advantage for the fintech, especially when dealing with corporates, according to Jean-François Mazure, head of cash clearing services at SocGen.
One of the biggest challenges is aligning the culture of a large incumbent with a start-up. In both panel examples, this was solved by a degree of independence for the fintech. Treezor, for example, remains a standalone project with its own roadmap and budget, and it is free to follow its strategic objectives, according to Lassus.
SparkChange has had “zero interference from a strategic perspective” from Barclays, according to Hamilton-Dick. “But, as with any good investor, Barclays is not afraid to challenge our decision-making from time to time, which makes it a very welcome and much needed sounding board to our strategic operations,” he said.