January 2010
Trade finance survey 2010: In world trade, banks turn out not to be the villains
Their problems have highlighted the importance of trade finance in maintaining the flow of goods. Laurence Neville reports on what is being done to sustain a vital economic function
UNTIL THE FINANCIAL crisis, trade finance was the oxygen of world trade: an essential ingredient to sustain life but one rarely given much consideration because of its elemental nature. Once the crisis began, the consequences of a lack of oxygen became painfully apparent. Banks, governments, supranational bodies and corporates have had to reassess how trade finance should function and how it can be made more sustainable.
“The years 2008 and 2009 have been a watershed in trade finance,” says Tan Kah Chye, global head of trade finance at Standard Chartered. “For the first time, there is public awareness of the importance of supporting short-term trade finance: once President Obama and George Soros start talking about it, you know it’s arrived.” ...
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