The International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) has acknowledged that banks alone will be unable to fully address global demand for trade financing and that there is a need to advance the evolution of trade finance as an asset class for alternative investors such as asset managers, insurance companies and pension funds.
A report published by the Alternative Credit Council (ACC) and international law firm Simmons & Simmons at the end of last year – Private credit and the trade finance opportunity – claimed that private credit investors were already playing a key role in supporting cross-border trade and that corporates value the faster execution times and bespoke financing structures developed with private credit managers.
At first glance, trade finance is a no-brainer for private credit. It is a multi-trillion dollar asset class based on the flow of physical goods and services, making it less susceptible to financial market volatility.
