Trade finance: Forfaiting for fun and profit

It's hard to imagine Wall Street star Michael Douglas, all red suspenders and slicked-back hair, playing a trade financier. Trade finance has never had charms for the Gordon Geckos of banking. Trade financiers don't wear fancy suspenders. Their characteristic fashion statement is said to be brown shoes. There are no big swinging dicks, no million-dollar bonuses. Instead of Douglas, a casting agent might pick Rowan Atkinson.

But this image needs updating. The modern trade financier may not be flamboyant, but he's well dressed and highly paid and may even have a colourful personality. Take Andy Ripley. A former England rugby player, he has made a name for himself as one of London Forfaiting Company's most successful executives. He has just left to study trade finance at Cambridge University. At the age of 50, he's also trying to win a place in the Boat Race crew. This is more like Chariots...