BAFT Recognizes 2023 Ambassador of the Year Honorees at Global Annual Meeting

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Announced at the 2023 Global Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA on May 1, 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 2023 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.

·      Baishali (Poppy) Biswal, Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager, Key Bank N.A.

·      Okechukwu Ihejirika, Senior Manager, Trade Services, African Export-Import Bank

·      Sabry Salman, Managing Director, Global Head of Financial Institutions & FinTech’s (Non-Bank PSPs) Barclays

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 San Francisco, CA on May 1, 2023.

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WASHINGTON — BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, has announced that Suresh Subramanian of BNP Paribas will serve as the chair of its board of directors for the 2023-2024 association year. 

Suresh Subramanian is managing director and head of transaction banking for the Americas at BNP Paribas. Based in New York, Suresh is responsible for business strategy, product management and sales across North and South America.

“After many years of service to the BAFT board of directors, I am honored to continue that work as chair for the upcoming association year,” Subramanian said. “I look forward to collaborating with my fellow officers and board members as we work to advance the goals and priorities of the transaction banking industry.”

Suresh has held several roles throughout his 30-year tenure with BNP Paribas including lead positions in New York, Paris and India for transaction and corporate banking. He also serves on several boards and committees within the bank, including as a member of the Leadership Committee for CIB Americas, a member of the Global Strategic Board for Transaction Banking and Correspondent Banking, a member of the Asset and Liability Committee for CIB Americas, and the Executive Champion for the bank’s Asian Business Networking Group.

BAFT board officers include:

  • Vice Chair: Nick Smit, ING
  • Secretary / Treasurer: Michelle Knowles, ABSA

Other directors include:

  • Maram Al-Jazireh, Arab Bank
  • Eddy Almonte, Bank of America
  • Rana Beydoun, Commerical Bank of Dubai
  • Tod Burwell (CEO), BAFT
  • Dyanne Carenza, Scotiabank
  • Mark Doctoroff, MUFG
  • Derryn Faure, Investec
  • Jean-Francois Mazure, Societe Generale
  • Patrick Havander, Visa
  • Darryl Hendricks, UBS
  • Maurice Iskander, Banque Libano-Française
  • Ayaz Kamlani, First Abu Dhabi Bank
  • John Kinyangi, Standard Bank Group
  • George Lee, Standard Chartered Bank
  • Sriram Muthukrishnan, DBS Bank
  • Miriam Ratkovicova, Deloitte
  • Amy Sahm, Fulton Bank
  • Sabry Salman, Barclays
  • Karin Walchshofer, BMO (Bank of Montreal)
  • Peter Zotos, JPMorgan Chase
  • Aaron Zynczak, First Citizens Bank

About BAFT
BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, helps bridge solutions across financial institutions, service providers and the regulatory community that promote sound financial practices enabling innovation, efficiency, and commercial growth. BAFT engages on a wide range of topics affecting transaction banking, including trade finance, payments, and compliance. The association website is www.baft.org.

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BAFT recently formed the Global Regional Bank Council to bring regional banks – those with total assets of USD$250bn or less, regardless of geographic location – together as a community to discuss issues that matter most to this group and amplify their collective voices. Joy Macknight from The Banker sat down with our very own board chair, Maram Al-Jazireh, SVP and Global Head of Financial Institutions at Arab Bank, for a closer look at the new council, and top-of-mind issues of regional banks today.

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The World Trade Board launched the ‘Financial Inclusion in Trade’ Roadmap, focusing on fair and equitable access to trade finance to empower MSMEs and SMEs, and calling for industry feedback and collaboration. Please submit feedback to [email protected].

The Financial Inclusion in Trade Roadmap identifies five key areas where coordinated action can make a significant impact. These include digital infrastructure, legal/regulatory infrastructure, data infrastructure, technical assistance and new funding sources. Crucially, the Roadmap aims to accelerate the pace of change by providing a holistic framework for public and private sector collaboration.

BAFT is one of the key contributors in the development of this roadmap, together with other notable industry partners, namely the ICC UK, IFC, FCI, and ITFA.

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In recent years, ESG has been a hot topic across all industries. It is widely accepted that the world needs to adapt and change in order to reach a more sustainable future. But there is a creeping sense of uncertainty regarding how to implement these changes.

To learn more about sustainability approaches within the industry, Trade Finance Global spoke to Eva Rubio Garcia, head of global transaction banking at BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking at BAFT (Bankers Association for Finance and Trade)’s Europe Bank to Bank forum held in London this January. Watch the entire conversation here.