In the vibrant setting of FCI’s 55th annual meeting in Marrakesh, Deepesh Patel, editor at Trade Finance Global, engages in a revealing conversation with Richard Wulff, the executive director at ICISA, shedding light on the intricacies of credit risk insurance and the current challenges faced by the industry.

Trade Finance Global (TFG) was at the heart of these conversations, offering a unique and insightful perspective on the future of trade finance. After some time to reflect, here are our top takeaways from the jam-packed conference.

Today, the ICC DSI released their 2023 Key Trade Documents and Data Elements (KTDDE) report. The report outlines 14 key trade documents, going into depth on the definitions, purpose, and legal frameworks.

Today, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) United Kingdom launched a Sustainability Toolkit, designed to guide businesses in embedding sustainable practices within their global value chains. 

Trade volumes and macroeconomic context of 2022 and the ICC Trade Finance Register for 2023 reveal a nuanced interplay of growth and deceleration. In 2022, international goods trade flows reached $23.8 trillion, marking a 10.7% increase from the previous year.

The ICC’s Trade Finance Register has been released, reporting a small increase in default rates across documentary trade and open account products, whilst highlighting still, the low-risk nature of the asset class.

Correspondent banking has played a central role in the global payments system for ages. Yet, the traditional correspondent model has been ailing for the past 20+ years. 

Thanks to the expansion of the financial dataset available, which is no longer only related to payments, we are witnessing the evolution of open banking towards open finance, a model in which authorised third-party providers have access to information provided by banks, subject to prior customers’ consent. 

FCI, the global representative body for the factoring and receivables finance industry, has achieved a significant milestone by securing three major agreements during its annual meeting in Marrakesh.

African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) has now established partnerships in its African Trade Facilitation Programme (AFTRAF) with over 80% of Africa’s commercial banks, according to the executive vice president of the Intra-African Trade Bank (IATB), Kanayo Awani.