What is BAFT?

BAFT is the leading global industry association for International Transaction Banking. It helps bridge solutions across financial institutions, service providers and the regulatory community that promote sound financial practices enabling innovation, efficiency and commercial growth.

What are the key BAFT updates this year?

BAFT continues to promote thought leadership and best practices, conduct advocacy and provide needed education and training.

SCF / Payables Finance

BAFT has engaged standard setting bodies (FASB, IFRS) on accounting treatment and disclosure concerns for payables finance. Additionally, we have worked with our partners in the GSCFF to document guidance for Payables Finance market practices.

IBOR Transition

BAFT is engaged on the creation of a forward-looking term SOFR – deemed critical for discounted trade products. BAFT is also assessing the feasibility of alternate calculation methodologies should a forward-looking term SOFR not be available before the transition.

DLPC

BAFT outlined guidance for technical and business requirements to conduct a distributed ledger payment commitment (DLPC), which has now been put into practice with live transactions.

Africa Council & Global Payments Industry Council (GPIC)

Continuing to build a global community, BAFT launched two new councils, the Africa Council, providing leadership for member services in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Global Payments Industry Council (GPIC), driving the payments/cash management agenda for the association.

What are the key COVID related initiatives you’ve worked on and how can we effectively ‘turn trade on’ as we head into recovery?

• Hosted a series of Member Briefings addressing Financing Trade during the Pandemic “force majeure”, the challenges to present physical documents and certain ECs/MLA programs designed to assist during the pandemic
• BAFT published a joint industry paper – Digital Rapid Response Measures Taken By Banks Under COVID 19 – highlighting practical approaches undertaken by various FIs following a brief survey initiated by BAFT
• Advocacy initiatives to e-enable trade product delivery (e-documents, e-signatures, e-bills of lading and e-negotiable instruments) in the context of local law.
• Advocacy to export credit agencies to expand support to institutions and consideration for private trade credit insurance to ensure liquidity for trade finance.
• Preparing an updated response to our previous communication with the European Commission in light of the impact of COVID-19 on trade finance in the context of the final Basel III framework.

Key Dates and Projects for 2020

• Digital Ledger Payment Commitment (DLPC) Business and Technical Best Practices, April 2020
  Paper and webinar on same topic.

• BAFT Class of 2020 Future Leaders Program, May 2020
  Graduating class of 30 completed papers and webinars on Sustainability, SWIFT gpi, Faster Payments and IBOR transition.

• Cross-Border Real Time Payments Barriers whitepaper, fall 2020

• Virtual Events/Webinars, Q3 and Q4 2020
  BAFT MENA Forum (Sept.) and BAFT International Convention (Nov.) will now be virtual events. BAFT MPA and Islamic MPA workshops will be held virtually (Sept.). Check www.baft.org/events for the latest updates on programs and webinars.

• Two New BAFT Certificate Programs, Q3 2020
  BAFT Certificate in Introductory Transaction Banking (CITB) will provide an entry level overview of the primary functions of transaction banking, while BAFT Transaction Risk for Trade Professionals will address the skills to identify, mitigate and price transaction risk while developing products and services.

• Two New BAFT Certificate Programs, Q3 2020
  All papers and recordings available on www.baft.org

Find out all of the latest updates in trade and credit insurance in our latest edition of Trade Finance Talks, here.

Now launched! Summer Edition 2020

Trade Finance Global’s latest edition of Trade Finance Talks is now out!

This summer 2020 edition, entitled ‘Coronavirus & The Fourth Industrial Revolution’, is available for free online, covering the latest in trade, export credit insurance, receivables and supply chain, with special features on fintech and digitisation.