TRADE FINANCE

REVIEW

Q2 2015
(April – June)
 Contents

Market News ………………………………….. 3

Commodities ………………………………….. 17
Middle East ……………………………………. 24
Asia …………………………………………….. 29
Africa …………………………………………… 34
People Moves………………………………….. 40

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 Market News

Banks Start Exiting Trade Finance

It appears that the business of supporting companies with trade finance,
documentary support, FX, risk management, and other services may not
be as appealing in the past.

There is much recent news around banks shrinking their balance sheets
and this is one of the businesses that can be shrunk relatively rapidly
given the short term nature of trade obligations. In addition, the efforts to
keep up with compliance around trade have greatly increased costs
without corresponding revenue gains.

RBS has decided to pull out of 25 of the 38 countries it currently has

operations and with that, close its Global Transaction service ("GTS")
operations. It is expected that others may follow.

King Trade Capital Provides $5MM in Facilities in Two Transactions

King Trade Capital is Canada’s oldest and largest independent purchase
order, trade, and contract finance provider for small to middle-market
companies in the U.S., UK and Canada. Since 1993, KTC has provided
more than $1.5 billion of capital to over 300 public and private
companies worldwide.

They recently announced the continuing expansion of cross-border

purchase order and trade finance offering in Canada, with a $2 million
purchase order finance facility for an importer of personal care

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accessories and a $3 million trade finance facility for a Canadian
importer of automotive accessories.

Both companies had exhausted open credit terms from their suppliers
and needed more inventory to fill orders. The commercial finance
company’s referred each prospect to King Trade Capital in order to
leverage their expertise in funding international inventory purchases.
King Trade Capital worked with both companies and introduced factors
to finance the accounts receivable and create even more liquidity for
both companies. As a result of financing, the company’s significantly
reduced the risk associated with providing unsecured financing in the
form of cash deposits to overseas suppliers, and increased their buying
power with their current suppliers.

GE Decides to Exit Banking

In a move suspected to be largely related to US regulators’ crackdown
on non-bank financial institutions, General Electrics announced the sale
of most of its GE Capital assets and a return to its industrial roots, while
retaining its trade finance business. GE Capital accounts for around half
of GE’s profits. GE Capital’s operating profit was $7 billion last year. Its
500 billion in assets would make it the country’s seventh-largest bank.

While GE Capital Real Estates assets are being sold to buyers including
funds managed by Blackstone for approximately US$26.5bn, with Wells
Fargo acquiring a portion of the performing loans, the trade finance and
factoring business will remain part of the company’s financial services.

Other “vertical” financial businesses retained include GE Capital aviation

services, energy financial services and healthcare equipment finance,

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while most of the commercial lending and leasing segment and all US
and international consumer platforms will be disposed of.

RBS to pass clients to BNP

Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed it will stop all cash management
and trade finance services to thousands of customers outside Britain and
Ireland and will instead refer them to BNP Paribas. This all forms part of
the bank’s longer term strategy to focus on lending to British households
and business resulting in reducing their investment bank and
international operations.

"As part of our strategy to make RBS a simpler, stronger and more
sustainable bank, RBS Transaction Services will focus on its home
market capabilities in the UK and the Republic of Ireland," Marc
Townsend, head of RBS's Global Transaction Services, said recently.

RBS, 78 percent-owned by the government, said it will continue to offer

transaction services to both small and large businesses in Britain as well
as multi-national businesses from western Europe, the United States and
the Asia Pacific which have significant links to the UK and Ireland. It will
also provide transaction services to global financial institutions.

The bank said there would be a streamlined process to make the

transition as smooth as possible for customers moving their transaction
banking to Paribas.

"We are confident that it has the people, country coverage, strong global
product capability and infrastructure in transaction services to be an
attractive alternative for our affected customers," said Townsend.

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EDC funds Bombardier aircraft export
Export Development Canada (EDC) has signed a US$45mn deal with
China’s AVIC International Leasing to fund the purchase of two CRJ900
NextGen aircraft from Canada’s Bombardier. This is the first aircraft
financing agreement in China involving a Chinese borrower serving a
Chinese regional airline, and involves offshore and onshore jurisdictions,
including China’s Tianjin Port free trade zone and is seen as an
important milestone.

The aircraft will be operated by China Express Airlines under a financial

lease with AVIC Leasing, a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry
Corporation of China (AVIC). The airline has ordered 28 CRJ900
NextGen aircraft from Bombardier, 14 of which had been delivered as of
March 31, 2015

Deutsche Bank keeps cash and trade link

Despite the low interest-rate environment, Deutsche Bank’s global
transaction banking (GTB) division reported revenues of €4.1 billion for
2014, an increase of €77 million on 2013, a 2% year-on-year rise.

The bank works with its client base to provide specialized solutions,
rather than having a principal focus on scale by client numbers or
regions. Through its approach to innovation, Deutsche has established
cash-management programmes with a number of international
companies, including PayPal.

Deutsche launched the accounts receivable manager for Sepa solution

in 2013 to streamline PayPal’s euro receivables reconciliation into a
single automated process. It allows PayPal to use IBAN numbers for its

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customers, rather than having to match up its existing client data. The
bank has ensured the business is working efficiently through keeping
certain areas of the transaction banking divisions separate, but
maintaining close co-operation. Underneath the Regional Managers are
separate Heads for Trade Finance and for Cash Management. They are
experts in their own fields, but are closely connected. Deutsche has
developed training programmes to ensure staff understand those close
connections.

International factoring: an alternative to LCs

International Factoring is gradually gaining popularity due to an increase
in open-account transactions globally, where buyers do not need to
make third party payment guarantee. International factoring provides a
solution to the problems faced in case of open-account trade as the
factor/bank collects money from abroad by approaching importers in
their own country, in their own language and in the locally accepted
manner.

At a seminar on international factoring for foreign trade, organised by the

International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh in partnership with
Factors Chain International (FCI), Asian Development Bank and
Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM), at Westin Dhaka,
experts suggested that Bangladesh should introduce international
factoring.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said international factoring removes

the danger of open-account trade under two-factor system very easily,
regardless of whether the exporter is a small or large organisation.

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International factoring is necessary for better and smooth trade finance,
said Nazneen Sultana, Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank. “It is time
to review cross-border factoring issue by focusing on cost-benefit and
legal issues.”

GLI Finance Buys Up Further Stake in TradeRiver in Shares

GLI Finance Ltd announced it has agreed an all-share deal to acquire a
further stake in online trade finance company TradeRiver Finance Ltd.
Under the deal, GLI will issue 6.2 million shares and 791,418 zero
dividend preference shares to TradeRiver's shareholders. Based on
GLI's closing mid-market price of 57.5 pence per share, the valuation of
TradeRiver's assets represents an 11.4% premium to GLI's holding
valuation of GBP9.1 million at the end of December. The deal gives GLI
a 43.9% stake in TradeRiver's ordinary shares and a 100% holding of its
preference shares

RosBank’s documentary obligations portfolio grows by 47 percent

RosBank reported that its portfolio of trade finance documentary
obligations increased 47 percent over the course of 2014.

Steps taken in the previous year to help the region develop trade
financing across seven regional teams with a pool of experts at their
disposal, allowed the network to grow its portfolio by 50 percent overall.
In the spectrum of documentary obligations the bank was able to
conduct over 3,600 transactions which allowed their client pool to grow.
Approximately 250 companies use the bank’s services in this area.

“Rosbank continues to play a leading role in the market of documentary

operations and trade financing among privately owned Russian banks in

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terms of the portfolio,” RosBank Deputy Director of Transactional
Banking Services and Head of Trade Finance Marianne Kuzanov said.
“We expect that the size of the portfolio will increase by 25 percent by
the end of this year as compared with the end of 2014″

Lloyds pledges extra support for start-ups and exporters

The bank’s Helping Britain Prosper campaign was launched last year to
help bolster the nation’s economy, and it’s SME Charter, a separate
initiative to support small firms. Lloyds Banking Group recently
announced several new “pledges” to support UK prosperity, including
creating 20,000 new digital champions, driving growth in the UK’s start-
ups, and helping companies to export their wares abroad.

The bank is committed to supporting an additional 5,000 businesses to

trade internationally, an increase of 7% on its current list of 70,000
exporting customers. Lloyds will work with UK Trade & Investment, the
Government body, to encourage small firms to tap into international
markets over the next three years.

Lloyds will help 1,000 UK start-ups to become £1m-turnover businesses

by 2018 as part of its SME Charter, offering mentoring, networking and
investment opportunities, and spreading the support across a wide
cross-section of industries.

Lloyds also plan to grow its net lending to small and medium-sized
enterprise (SMEs) by least £1bn per year, according to the SME Charter,
which also promises to increase trade finance for small exporters by
25pc.

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It is not clear how well Lloyds fared on its historic pledges. Last year, it
said that £50m would be funnelled into the UK small housebuilders to
build 60,000 new homes. That target has now been reduced to £35m.
Its previous digital skills target has also been adjusted, as has the
number of businesses it previously pledged to help trade internationally.
However, it has met targets to help one in five start-ups get off the
ground, and supports bank accounts for one in four social enterprises.
Group chief executive Antonio Horta-Osario said: “We believe no other
bank is better placed to help Britain prosper. We are proud of what we
have achieved so far but know there is a lot more hard work ahead.”

Supply Chain Finance Market Growing Worldwide

Globally, the supply chain finance (SCF) market is expanding and
maturing. A new report from BCR Publishing, a news provider that
specializes in the receivables finance industry, estimates a growth of 30
percent per year. BCR’s research shows the market could be worth €43
billion ($46.5 billion) in terms of the funds currently in use.

The report reveals several trends expected to shape supply chain

finance over the next 12 months. Throughout the report, those
interviewed point to the varying description of the practice. For some
supply chain finance has become synonymous with supplier finance.
Others take a more holistic view, opening up the meaning to include
reverse factoring, buyer-centric supply chain finance, approved payables
finance and pre-shipment finance. The work toward common standards
has begun. In 2014, six of the most influential bankers’ associations
came together to form the Global SCF Forum. Part of the group’s
mandate is developing globally accepted market terms to be used
industry wide. The hope is a common knowledge base combined with

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standard definition make joint or multiple partner deals across national
borders less trouble.

Supply chain finance, once the sole purview of highly specialized big
banks, is seeing smaller, regional and domestic banks offer SCF
services. Increased completion as more and more players entering the
field, places downward pressure on prices. Anil Walia, Global Head of
Supply Chain Finance at the Royal Bank of Scotland told BCR
researchers he expects the trend to continue as new entrants seek
market share. “Whether they’re able to deliver at the level of more
established banks is really going to be the test,” Walia adds. “If they’re
unable to deliver, then there’s going to be shake up in two years.”

Technology is another major trend changing supply chain finance for

banks and suppliers. Increasing adoption of both cloud and e-invoicing
technologies gives lenders deeper visibility into potential and immediate
access to transactional date.. E-invoicing gives providers greater visibility
into the purchase patterns and payables of businesses seeking finance..
Openness and transparency provides financers an actual risk profile and
removes a lot of uncertainty from the supply chain financing process.
Electronic tools also open new opportunities for lines of business, like
pre-shipment financing. Growing integration of electronic tools across the
supply chain, like purchase-to-pay systems, give banks a clear look into
confirmed payables.

Overall growth in supply chain finance is expected to be strong.

Regionally, markets anticipate varying levels of growth and distinctive
challenges.

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ICC Banking Commission Submission on BCBS Revisions to The
Standardised Approach To Credit Risk Proposal
The ICC Banking Commission continues to advocate for appropriate and
well-calibrated regulatory treatment of trade finance on various fronts,
including as related to reserve requirements and capital adequacy
standards promulgated by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
(BCBS). Along with the ongoing efforts of Member Banks and the
Banking Commission Team around the ICC Trade Register, they
recently engaged in internal deliberations and dialogue with interested
industry associations, to respond to a consultation request by the BCBS.

The Banking Commission paper makes numerous specific

recommendations that have the potential to result in positive refinements
to the regulatory treatment of trade finance by the BCBS and by national
regulatory authorities charged with the implementation of capital
adequacy standards. Specific recommendations include requests for the
BCBS to consider:
 Differentiated treatment for claims on banks less than 90 days old
and rolled over
 Differentiated treatment for trade finance exposures to corporate
counterparties
 CCF for Commitments be revised to 20% or 50% based on
exposure/product, in lieu of 75%
 The application of 0% CCF for certain types of trade finance
commitments
 Recalibration of CCF from 50% to 20% for certain types of trade-
related guarantee exposures
 Continued use of external ratings for emerging market MDBs when
they not highly rated or qualifying

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MDBs
 That consideration be given to the introduction of a new sub-clause
aimed at providing greater clarity and guidance around the
application of CCF to off-balance sheet items.
 A redrafting of clause 53 aimed at ensuring consistency in the
application of CCF to Letters of Credit (L/C)
 That the Basel Committee provides specific guidance relative to
appropriate/best practices in the reporting of CCF, specifically around
aggregation of sub-limits covering multiple products and the risk
weighting assigned in the context of such structures.
 Specific or lower risk weights for commodity trade finance when
supported by strong structures and liquid collateral
 Clarify the use of insurance contracts issued by ECAs and other
insurance companies when they satisfy the eligibility requirements for
set out under the collateral mitigation framework

Final report – Cole Commission

The Cole Commission has published its final report, producing a series
of recommendations to improve the UK’s export performance. In the
forefront, Commission chairman Graham Cole writes that more needs to
be done to speed up the process of achieving the ambitious £1tn by
2020 export target set by Chancellor George Osborne three years ago.

The action points proposed focus around five topics, including:

 Cabinet-level leadership to drive exports, combined with an
implementation committee to facilitate real action;

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 A reformed, customer-focused UK Export Finance (UKEF) and UK
Trade and Investment (UKTI) working as one to champion UK
exports;
 A “One Stop Shop” that co-ordinates and simplifies all SME export
support and has a strong focus on enhancing SME digital
capabilities;
 A public procurement strategy that encourages bidders to bring UK
SMEs into their supply chain, ready for exporting;
 An education system that puts international trade and exports on the
agenda, through a greater utilisation of foreign students, enhanced
relationships, and a dedicated qualification for exports.

A major change from the Commission’s interim report published last April
is the retracting of the UKTI-UKEF proposed merge in favour of a co-
location of the agencies, as well as a shared “core set of KPIs that place
enhancing exports as the first order priority” and “greater access to
UKTI’s international network.” Speaking at GTR UK Trade and Export
Finance conference in the beginning of June, Paul Croucher, Head of
Trade Finance and Insurance solutions at UKEF, said that moving the
agencies into the same office buildings was “a possibility we’re looking to
explore”.

The Commission also found that support for SMEs needed improvement.
They call for an end of the “one-size-fits-all approach” and instead
recommend “streamlining the application process for SMEs”.

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Russia’s Sberbank and Italy’s Sace sign MoU
Sberbank of Russia and Italia export credit agency Sace signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) during the St. Petersburg
International Economic Forum. The MoU aims at developing a long-term
co-operation concerning export credit to support foreign trade operations
between the Russian Federation and Italy.

Despite the sanctions, Russia remains an important partner for Italy.

Alessandro Castellano, Sace’s CEO remarks: “With over €4.4bn of
exposure in our portfolio, Russia remains the top foreign market for
Sace”

Misys wins Trade Finance award for second consecutive year

Misys, the leading financial software company, has been awarded Best
Trade Finance Tech-solutions Company in this year's Trade Finance
Awards for Excellence for the second year in a row.

Voted for by the industry, the win reflects another strong year in trade
finance for Misys, with new deals in Germany and India, important go-
lives for Tier one global banks in the UK and US, and a growing client
base of over 200 financial institutions now using its trade and financial
supply chain management solutions. Within the last year, Misys has also
been named a Leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for International Core
Banking, and "Best in Class" by CEB TowerGroup for corporate client
services and transaction capabilities in trade services.

Misys has seen double digit growth in demand for FusionBanking

Corporate Channels, its integrated online banking solution for trade,

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supply chain finance, corporate cash management and commercial
lending. The company has continued to invest in new technology,
delivering a new relationship-based pricing and billing engine and further
support for the latest innovations in digital trade finance and corporate
connectivity, such as the Bank Payment Obligation and Electronic Bills of
Lading.

Daniel Schmand succeeds Tan as ICC Chair

Schmand has been appointed chair of the International Chamber of
st
Commerce (ICC) Banking Commission for a three-year term from 1
May, taking over from Tan Kah Chye, who has chaired the commission
since 2010. Tan will be taking on a new role as chair of the ICC
Academy.

Daniel Schmand is Managing Director and Head of Trade Finance and

Cash Management Corporates for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at
Deutsche Bank’s Global Transaction Banking (GTB) division. He is also
responsible for the global co-ordination of the bank’s trade finance
activities. He was appointed vice-chair of the ICC Banking Commission
responsible for supply chain finance in 2012.

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 Commodities

Goldman Sachs now leads global banks in commodity trading

revenues
The commodity trading divisions of Bank of America Merrill Lynch,
Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank,
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS, were monitored
by Coalition, a financial analytics company. They reported that
collectively, banks enjoyed a 9% increase in commodity revenue in
2014, despite the chronically low prices of some key commodities. Total
revenue was US$4.9bn in 2014 and while it was the first upward tick
since 2011, it still represents a fraction of the combined US$14.1bn
banks were taking in before the crisis in 2008.

JP Morgan sold its commodities division to trader Mercuria in 2014 and

falling oil prices and the massive commodity fraud uncovered in
Qingdao, China last year have led to many banks paring back their
commodities business in Asia.

Standard Chartered were expecting heavy losses, as reported by

Macquarie: “StanChart will suffer from a combination of commodity
finance-related defaults and revenue pressure, in our view. For
StanChart we estimate US$3.9bn stress test losses on its US$61bn
commodity exposure. In addition we see the risk that the bank may have
to top up currently weak NPL coverage ratios to a more comfortable level
of 80% which would cost US$2bn (pre-tax). Adding all negative together,
one year of pre-tax profit (2015E) would get wiped out by assuming front

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end loaded losses and the capital shortfall would increase to just below
US$8bn based on our assumptions.”

Data from Citi showed that trade finance declined 1.4% last year
compared to a surge of 43.8% in 2013. In December in Hong Kong, the
1.4% contraction in trade finance was the first reversal since December
2009.

Whilst compliance issues are taking Banks longer to complete deals,

there has been an increase in funds entering the market in an effort to
take advantage of the vacuum banks have left.

Singapore builds up local expertise for commodity trading

According to a 2014 Global Trade Review (GTR) Asia report, Singapore
is now the busiest port in the world by tonnage, although there is a
severe lack of local talent supply, especially since Singaporeans make
up only about 60 per cent of the more than 14,000 workers in the
industry.

Commodity trading companies are finding that the lack of talent with the
right skillsets is a challenge, as reported by global agri-commodity firm
Olam. As a result, the company is taking a "long view'' on its talent, to
create a talent pipeline for its trading roles. Olam ensures that
employees get a minimum of five to six years of experience in managing
complex supply chain operations in one or more of the firm's operating
countries. It also fosters employee development along five to 10-year
time horizons.

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Local education programmes with a focus on international trade are
starting to emerge, equipping more graduates with the skillsets to thrive
in the commodity trading industry.

In 2007, the Singapore Management University (SMU) set up the

International Trading Institute (ITI) in collaboration with IE Singapore and
industry partners. The institute has produced more than 300 graduates
so far under its international trading concentration, offered to students
majoring in finance. Education gives Singapore's physical commodity
trade a competitive edge "as local talent is a very sticky factor in building
comparative advantage for any country", said professor of finance
(practice) and academic director of ITI, Annie Koh.

Nanyang Technological University (NTU), is embarking on a new

International Trading Programme (ITP) that will adopt a multidisciplinary
approach to commodity trading.

They are also looking at how to create awareness of the opportunities

available and encourage students to enter the physical commodity
trading industry.

Commodity Traders Vow Openness as Oil Volatility Brings Boom

Leaders of the industry gathered in Lausanne with commodity traders on
track for one of their best years since the financial crisis.

Increased oil price volatility and markets in contango, where current

prices are lower than those on futures markets, have created the most
favourable conditions for oil traders in more than four years. As banks
exit or scale back their physical commodities business due to regulatory

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pressure, the independent commodity trading industry has become more
visible.

Regulatory pressure on banks has raised compliance standards and put

pressure on traders to provide more information. As a result, commodity
traders are promising more openness as their key role in global energy,
food and metals markets attracts scrutiny. Trading houses including
Trafigura, Gunvor Group Ltd. and Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. are
investing in assets including refineries, storage facilities and pipelines
and have tapped new sources of funding including bonds and
partnerships with private equity.

Citi faces headwinds in commodity trade finance

Citigroup Inc and rivals in the commodity trade finance sector are facing
headwinds of weak oil prices, sanctions on Russia and stiff competition,
which have pressured fees. The US bank, which launched its business in
the sector three years ago, has shifted attention from China, where fees
are weak, to Africa and Latin America, said Kris van Broekhoven, Global
Head of Commodity Trade Finance.

"It's still a tough environment," he told Reuters. "China is not an easy

market. It's very competitive and pricing is low. We want growth, but not
at any cost." Citi started off with oil, added metals last year and plans to
include agricultural commodities by the end of 2015. The bulk of its
business has come from financing deals with big trading houses and this
is being expanded to include the next tier of mid-sized traders, Van
Broekhoven said.

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A sharp drop in oil prices and rising costs in areas of compliance and
regulation have caused Citi to refrain from certain businesses where the
returns are insufficient. "When the costs are increasing, at a certain point
it no longer makes sense to do something at the price the client is
paying," he said. "I do believe the moment will come when banks will
reprice a bit upwards. That's one thing I would expect over the next 12
months." Citi, the third-biggest US bank by assets, is pressing on with its
expansion in commodity trade finance and is still growing its revenues in
the sector every year despite the challenges, Van Broekhoven said.

According to a report in the Financial Times in 2012, Citi aimed to make

more than $200 million in net income from the business within three
years. Van Broekhoven declined to give specific revenue figures or to
comment on the reported target. Sanctions on Russia due to the Ukraine
crisis have also had an impact on Citi's business since it has been a big
player in the region, Van Broekhoven said. To help counter the
challenges, the commodity trade finance business, which has a
headcount of 14, plans to expand into Latin America this year. Citi plans
to add staff in that region and is also recruiting someone to run
agricultural trade finance globally, he said.

BB Energy secures oversubscribed RCF

Energy trading company BB Energy has signed its revolving credit
facility (RCF) at US$200mn, tacking on an additional US$25mn since
syndication was launched in May.

The oversubscribed facility has a tenor of 12 months and also contains

an up to one-year extension option, at each lender’s discretion. It will be

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used to refinance last year’s US$175mn RCF and for general corporate
and working capital purposes.

The company’s CFO Riccardo Greco comments on the signing: “As it

expands its trading activities, BB Energy continues to deliver solid
business and financial performance; the interest received from the
banking community in this year’s RCF is the recognition of such a
pattern. We look forward to developing new business opportunities with
the support of our enlarging banking pool which we thank once again.”

Isbank Germany licenses Surecomp trade finance package

Surecomp®, the leading global provider of trade finance solutions for
banks and corporations, recently announced that Isbank AG, the
European arm of Turkey’s leading bank Türkiye Is Bankasi A.S., has
licensed Surecomp’s state-of-the-art DOKA 5® trade finance system.
Headquartered in Frankfurt, Isbank spearheads its parent company’s
international expansion plans, and promotes close commercial and other
ties between Western Europe and Turkey.

Isbank sought an efficient, agile and responsive trade finance solution to

meet the business challenges of its corporate clients, recognising that
trade finance is a key element in building strong international operations,
and that the bank’s in-place manual system would not allow for the
growth strategy envisaged. The bank wanted to partner with a solution
provider who could offer advanced software solutions along with superior
integration and support services. Working closely with Swiss-
headquartered Avaloq Banking System, a Surecomp partner, Isbank
completed the implementation and went live with it’s the new core
system in record time.

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“Our goal is to accompany our clients in their international business
growth through a long-term partnership approach, supported by the
dedication and passion of our trade finance professionals,” remarked
Moshe Wolfson, Surecomp Vice President Sales EMEA and Global
Head of Marketing. “We greatly appreciate Isbank’s vote of confidence in
our company, and look forward to successfully partnering with the bank
in the years ahead.”

Mercuria signs US$2.5bn RCFs

Energy and commodities group Mercuria has closed US$2.5bn-worth of
multicurrency revolving credit facilities (RCFs). The facilities were
oversubscribed by 35% following an initial launch at US$2.1bn last April,
and were subsequently increased in aggregate, with a scale-back in
participations.

“We are very pleased with the strong outcome. More than 50 banks
committed to the facilities including a number of new geographically
diverse banks,” says Guillaume Vermersch, group chief financial officer
of Mercuria, adding: “These Facilities reflect Mercuria’s sustained
business growth boosted by the recent acquisition of the JP Morgan
physical commodities trading books.”

The facilities include a US$ 1.9bn 364-day tranche and a US$600mn

three-year RCF. According to a Mercuria statement, they will be used for
general corporate purposes and working capital including the refinancing
of the group’s maturing US$2.055bn 364-day and US$595mn three-year
European RCFs dated June 20, 2014.

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 Middle East

Sidra Ancile Global Structured Trade Investment Fund exceeds

SR250m (Middle East)
The fund that is co-managed by Saudi-based Sidra Capital and Swiss-
based INOKS Capital has made 135 short-term investments up to 2014
across a variety of geographies and soft commodities, recently
surpassing SR250 million (66 million) under management to become the
world's largest Islamic structured trade investment fund. The fund is fully
Shariah-compliant and sets high ethical standards.

The fund has invested across Africa East Europe Asia and MENA region
and it’s strategy is to support growth in the real economy by actively
providing working capital to non-speculative value added SMEs focusing
on agricultural commodities energies and metals. This much needed
growth capital will allow real tangible non-speculative businesses to
mature and in the process generate wealth for the investors and the
invested communities.

National Bank of Fujairah underscores focus on precious metals

and jewellery sectors with launch of diamond financing business
National Bank of Fujairah PJSC (NBF) recently announced the
establishment of a specialised team focused on financing manufacturers
and traders of rough and polished diamonds to compliment the bank’s
focus on the precious metals and jewellery sectors. They have hired
industry experts from Antwerp Diamond Bank's (ADB) operations in
Dubai to run the business, providing short-term purchase and sales
financing to established diamond players as they ship raw diamonds

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from producing nations in the African and European continents to
manufacturers in India and the Far East.

Vikram Pradhan, NBF 's Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking, said
that the launch of the bank's diamond financing business coincides with
the rise of Dubai as one of the diamond capitals of the world: "With
Dubai's strategic location on global trade routes, its open business
climate and modern infrastructure, it's no wonder that the city has quickly
taken its rightful place as one of the leading diamond centres in the
world”.

According to the Dubai Diamond Exchange, a regional trading platform

overseen by the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), the emirate's
diamond trade is valued at nearly $35 billion in 2013 and 2014, up from
less than $5 million in 2001.

Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of DMCC, said: "Over the past
decade, Dubai has effectively leveraged its location on the 'New Silk
Route' at the heart of the global diamond trade.

"Investors eye companies with Iranian ties in anticipation of

sanctions lifting
Negotiators are seeking to finalise a deal that would check Iran’s nuclear
programme in exchange for an end to the economic sanctions.
Multinationals located in nearby countries and those that have kept ties
with the Islamic republic during sanctions are anticipating a big lift from
this opening up of the Middle East’s second-biggest economy.

25
According to Hasnain Malik, the Head of Frontier-Markets Equity
Strategy at Exotix Partners in Dubai, Dubai will get a 5% boost to its
economy from lifting sanctions on Iran

MTN is among the stocks likely to benefit since it owns 49% of MTN
Irancell, the second-biggest telecommunications company in Iran. MTN
recently reported that it had about $1bn to repatriate from Iran, including
an accumulated dividend and loan repayment due from Irancell.

MTN’s shares have fallen 7.4% during the first three months of this year.
"They’ll have the benefit of being able to repatriate cash that’s been
stranded there for some time," Avior Research Analyst David Lerche
says. "The lifting of sanctions is probably going to be positive for the
Iranian economy as a whole, and that would help consumer spending
and therefore MTN’s operations in Iran."

Helen Elfer, Lonely Planet’s Middle East destination editor, expects "a
big impact on Iran’s tourism industry", saying: "More flights and access
to the international banking system would make a major difference to
travellers."

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is

continuing to support the development of international trade in
Tajikistan with both financial support and training.
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On 30 March 2015, the EBRD provided a new trade finance facility to
Access Bank Tajikistan under the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme
(TFP). On the same day, jointly with Tajik Banking Association, the Bank
held a workshop on the latest rules of International Chamber of

26
Commerce (ICC) on International Standard Banking Practice (ISBP),
according to EBRD.

A new TFP facility for AccessBank Tajikistan for the amount of €200,000
was signed alongside the workshop... “We are very pleased that
AccessBank Tajikistan, which the EBRD co-founded and which already
partners with us to support MSMEs, will now also be able to support
Tajik companies trading with foreign partners through our trade
facilitation programme,” said Richard Jones., Head of the EBRD’s
resident office in Dushanbe.

Launched in 1999, the TFP aims to promote foreign trade to, from and
among the EBRD’s countries of operations. Under the programme, the
EBRD provides guarantees to international confirming banks and also
grants short-term loans to select banks and factoring companies for on-
lending to local exporters, importers and distributors. The TFP currently
includes over 100 partner banks in 23 countries where the Bank invests,
with limits exceeding €1.5 billion in total, and more than 800 confirming
banks worldwide.

Since the beginning of its operations in the country, the EBRD has
invested close to US$ 320 million in Tajikistan across many sectors of
the economy.

Gulf Finance launches Trade Finance solutions for SMEs

This leading provider of growth finance to SMEs and micro businesses,
has launched its own suite of trade finance solutions to help support the
business requirements of clients engaged in imports and exports. The
Company offers an extensive product suite consisting of Small Business

27
Loans, Business Vehicle Finance, Commercial Finance including
working capital, asset finance and invoice finance, Medical Equipment
Finance and Marine Finance.

The available trade finance solutions include Letters of Credit, Bonds

and Guarantees, starting at a minimum of AED 50,000 for a minimum
period of 30 days. They offer a dedicated and experienced team
specialized in trade finance to support this funding initiative.

"The UAE has developed into a regional trading hub and our research
shows that there is a gap in the market for the position of Trade Finance
services to SME's and micro businesses'" commented, David Hunt, CEO
of Gulf Finance.

"By launching our trade finance facility we hope to close this gap by
fulfilling SME's requirements for both short and long-term liquidity,
making it affordable and accessible for SMEs to engage in real cross-
border trade transactions. Our own market research, the recently
launched Gulf Finance SME Sentiment Survey, tells us that 20% of our
customers are looking to expand into new markets."

28
 Asia

China rolls out FTZ model despite Shanghai let-down

China has launched three new free trade zones (FTZ) - Guangdong,
Tianjin and Fujian They will be run on the same model as the maiden
zone in Shanghai, launched in September 2013 and have been chosen
largely for geographical reasons.

The government hopes this will help boost economic growth, as it looks
for ways to meet its growth targets, amid fears of a prolonged slowdown.
Banks and companies based in the Shanghai FTZ have been permitted
some levels of cross-border lending and renminbi sweeping – initiatives
which China hoped would help increase the international usage of the
currency.

There appear to be widespread doubts as to the efficacy of the first FTZ,

with Critics pointing out that some of the crucial objectives of the FTZ,
such as the free-floating of the Rmb and its full convertibility, as well as
free interest rates, have yet to be met, although local authorities have
voiced intentions to continue to move towards these goals.

A recent survey by the US Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai showed

that the majority of US companies working in the zone have yet to
experience any material benefit from doing so. 73% of companies
surveyed reported “no tangible benefits” for business. Whilst others
have urged patience, with a senior figure at Citi reporting “Things are
beginning to move. As clients get more involved, we will also get more

29
involved. It’s something which is extremely welcome. It has increased
our business but also presents new trade finance opportunities,”

Australia hopeful of a trade and investment agreement with India by

year-end
India is Australia’s top VET (Vocational Education and Training) market,
having grown 27 per cent in the past year alone, and the demand across
the next decade is likely to be phenomenal.

Andrew Robb, Minister for Trade and Investment, Australia confirmed

that “Australia is looking to conclude a bilateral economic trade and
investment agreement by the end of this year with focus being Services,
including education and training,”

As part of his inspiring economic transformation plan, India’s Prime

Minister, Narendra Modi has set his country the task of skilling and
training 500 million Indians by 2022.”

Alibaba enlists startups to provide UK trade financing

The Alibaba’s partnerships with iwoca and ezbob, two finance providers
for small businesses across the UK, are intended to provide short-term
working capital to businesses that otherwise would have trouble securing
funds from banks.

British companies looking to source cheap components or goods from

Chinese suppliers apply for credit online; the providers review their
business track records, tax returns and other data, and then provide a
swift decision.

30
It is similar to its recently announced tie-up with Lending Club in the US,
although unlike Lending Club (a peer-to-peer loans matching service),
Ezbob and Iwoca would provide the financing themselves. They already
lend to Amazon.com and eBay merchants.

Both will be providing micro-loans of GBP 50,000 (USD 75,315) and up

to qualified firms, at anticipated interest rates of 0.75% to 2% monthly.
Funds are channelled directly to Chinese suppliers.

Alibaba’s executives are looking for similar providers to extend financing

to markets such as Australia, Germany and Canada

Iran to raise stake in Islamic finance body as it prepares for

possible sanctions relief
The Jeddah-based International Islamic Trade Finance Corp (ITFC)
promotes Islamic trade financing, which follows religious principles such
as a ban on interest payments. With 56 shareholders including about 31
member countries, it extends direct financing and cooperates with other
providers to support sharia-compliant trade. Islamic trade finance serves
only a tiny fraction of global trade, partly because Islamic banks are
relatively small and lack the expertise and large international networks of
mainstream Western banks.

Since its inception in 2008, the ITFC has extended $594 million worth of
financing approvals for Iran, all of that before 2012, when the sanctions
were tightened and effectively froze Tehran out of the global banking
system. During 2014 the ITFC approved transactions worth $5.2 billion,
up from $3.4 billion in 2013, with over three-quarters of the money going
to finance trade in the energy sector.

31
In preparation for possible easing of sanctions on its foreign trade in
exchange for curbing its nuclear program, Iran plans to raise its stake in
the ITFC, becoming its third largest shareholder, a move which could
help Iran rebuild its international trading links if the sanctions are eased.
This depends on whether negotiations between Tehran and world
powers can reach agreement on its disputed nuclear program. An
agreement looks to be imminent,, although both sides say major
obstacles remain. The ITFC's annual general assembly has approved an
increase of Iran's subscription by 8,500 shares. Its annual report says
each share is worth $10,000, implying Iran would pay $85 million to lift its
stake.

At the end of 2013, Iran's subscription was just $1.92 million, which
made it the 22nd largest shareholder in the ITFC, behind Bangladesh
and just ahead of Bahrain. At present, the Islamic Development Bank
[ISDBA.UL] is the largest shareholder in the ITFC with a stake worth
$266 million; Saudi Arabia holds second spot at $120 million. The ITFC
has total paid-up capital of $701.9 million.

The ITFC resolution said Iran would increase its stake via three equal
and consecutive instalments. The first instalment is due in six months
time, but Iran could opt to pay any or all of the instalments before the
due date.

32
DBS Bank Singapore Receives Approval to Issue Letters of Credit
for Trading on DME
Following recent approval approved to issue Letters of Credit (LCs) for
trading crude oil on the Exchange, DBS becomes the first Singapore
bank to be able to issue LCs directly from Singapore on behalf of its
clients to guarantee deliveries of Oman crude oil.

Owain Johnson, Managing Director, The Dubai Mercantile Exchange

(DME), recently said "We are pleased to announce that DBS is the first
Singapore bank with regional Asia presence to be awarded this status.
As a major bank in Singapore with a strong credit rating, we believe DBS
would play a significant role in contributing to higher trade volumes
conducted by over 400 commodity players based on Singapore. DBS '
support is a significant step that will further enhance the trading
environment offered by the Exchange and allow our customers to
manage risks more effectively."

33
 Africa

WTO Celebrating 20th Anniversary in Morocco

The World Trade Organization chose Marrakesh, its birth place, to
celebrate its 20th anniversary with a high-level conference on the topic
“WTO 20 years: celebrating successes, meeting challenges to come.”

The conference took place in April and was attended by the WTO
Director-General, Roberto Azevêdo, Mr Achim Steiner, Director of the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and some 40 African
Trade Ministers.

The importance of ensuring that trade and environmental policies are

mutually supportive was emphasized by both Mr Azevedo and Mr
Steiner.

WTO worries over financial sector’s capacity to support industrial

firms
WTO are concerned that a lack of capacity in the financial sector to
support industries, and also a lack of access to the international financial
system could be a significant trade barrier for developing countries.

Citing a survey by the African Development Bank of 300 banks operating

in 45 African countries, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has
described the market for trade finance in Nigeria and other developing
countries in the continent to be hovering around $350 billion. They
consider that the figure could be markedly higher if a significant share of
the financing requested by traders had not been rejected, noting that
based on such rejections, the estimate for the value of unmet demand

34
for trade finance in Africa is about $120 billion, representing one-third of
the gap in the existing market.

Comparing the situation in Africa to that of Asia, the WTO stated that the
Asian Development Bank, in a similar survey in Asia, found preliminary
estimates showing an unmet demand of about $800 billion.

According to the WTO, up to 80 per cent of global trade is supported by

some form of financing or credit insurance noting that the impact of
financial limitations on a country’s trading potential can be very, very
significant.

The Director-General, WTO, Roberto Azevêdo in a statement stated that

in many countries there is a lack of capacity in the financial sector to
support trade, therefore limiting the ability of these countries to use
simple instruments such as letters of credit for trade.

The lack of development of the financial sector is seen as a significant

barrier to trade. It can prevent developing countries from integrating into
the trading system and accessing further trade opportunities. The WTO
are therefore committed to doing everything possible to help developing
countries to integrate into the global trading system. This is reflected in
the outcomes of the Bali Package, currently being implemented . And it
is reflected in the current negotiations on the work programme to
conclude the Doha Round. “But the effectiveness of all this work will be
lessened if proper access to trade finance is not secured”, said Mr
Azevêdo.

35
Morocco is ready for Islamic banking
The country’s central bank governor, Abdellatif Jouahri, says that
Morocco will introduce its first fully-compliant Islamic bank by 2016.

Last January the Moroccan government adopted a bill drafted in 2012

regulating shariah-compliant banking products and allowing foreign
Islamic banks to operate in the country’s banking sector. Morocco has
also approved plans to create a shariah board of Islamic scholars to
preside over the Islamic finance industry. While the country has been
slow to set it up, it is not too late to profit from the popularity of Islamic
banking. “It is going to be extremely good for the Moroccan economy,”
Maninder Managing Director at Encore Solutions told GTR. “There is
definitely going to be high demand for the services,” he said.

While Islamic banking currently occupies a small percentage of the

market share, demand for this type of product is high and constantly
growing. According to Ernst & Young’s analysis International Islamic
banking assets were expected to exceed US$778bn last year, and are
set to triple to more than US$2tn in the next four years,

According to Mr Bhandari,, the reasons for Islamic banking’s popularity

are not simply religious, but also financial – from a borrowing as well as
deposits perspective, as profit rates paid on deposits and balances by
Islamic banks are usually higher than those paid by conventional banks,
and related to risk and safety – because all the counterparties involved in
Islamic banking transactions are taking an equal risk and not just
passing the risk on to the client.

36
Tapping the market in Sudan
Bank of Khartoum 's Head of Corporate Banking, Yacoub Mohamed
Zafir Al-Alem believes that whilst past restrictions have limited the
Sudanese corporate banking market, the potential now exists for
considerable growth.

He says that the Sudanese economy can confidently be classified as a

'virgin one' that essentially needs large corporate companies well-
equipped with extensive experience and know-how to establish large
scale projects. Ongoing economic and regulatory reforms are aimed at
attracting increasing foreign and local investors. Inevitably, these
investors will be heavily reliant on the corporate banking sector to
facilitate business and cater to their banking products and services
requirements.

With this in mind the Bank are targeting a client base consisting of large
corporations and NGOs. They are able to provide services to clients that
need finance or cash management solutions. A typical client has
revenues of over $10 million per annum and an established track record
in his/her sector, excellent management capabilities, great financial
performance and a sterling reputation

As the oldest and largest bank in Sudan by balance sheet size. Bank of
Khartoum are able to assure clients of their reliability which enables
them to finance single obligors with amounts larger than their
competitors. With a branch network of 73 branches and 27 sub-branches
spread all over the country and a large foreign correspondent network,
Bank of Khartoum have become the partner of choice for many large
corporations and NGOs.

37
$120bn trade finance gap is holding back Africa’s growth
Stanbic Bank, a member of Standard Bank, offers a corporate trade
finance programme that facilitates domestic and international trade by
guaranteeing payment for goods shipments. They offer competitive
funding costs and experienced teams to help businesses succeed. The
bank’s footprint across 20 countries in Africa enables it to provide
comprehensive trade finance solutions. They consider that a lack of
access to affordable trade finance is holding back the economic and
employment potential of African countries, a view upheld by The
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the largest business
organisation in the world, who agree that the African market is clearly
underserviced from a trade finance perspective.

According to the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) recent report on

trade finance in Africa, the conservative estimate for the value of unmet
demand for bank-intermediated trade finance is between US$110 billion
and US $120 billion, which is significantly higher than earlier estimated
figures of US$25 billion.

As trade finance has a direct impact on employment, a great number of

jobs could be created if small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa,
could do cross border transactions that would have been supported by
the unmet gap in demand for trade finance.

The WTO’s World Trade Report 2014 says the potential of trade in
supporting development has not yet been fully realised. The emerging
trends suggest, however, that trade will be a major force for development
in the future.

38
Despite the positive outlook, the WTO report says 2014 was the third
straight year of below average trade growth and that this will not change
in 2015.

39
 People Moves

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Hires

th
From 6 April, Ken Stratton has been appointed First General Manager
and Regional Head of Transaction Banking Sales, Asia Transaction
Banking Office. He reports to Noritoshi Murakami, General Manager of
Asian Transaction Banking Office and will be based in Singapore.

Stratton has more than 30 years of experience in financial services and

has worked in both cash and trade positions in global banks across Asia
Pacific and the US. Before joining BTMU, he was managing his own
consulting company providing transaction banking and relationship
management training across Asia.

He will supervise the bank’s transaction banking business, including

cash management and trade finance across 12 markets within the Asia
and Oceania region and be responsible for developing and setting the
strategic direction for the Asia and Oceania region’s transaction banking
business, deepening existing client relationships, and driving new client
growth across a broad sector comprising multinational and large local
corporates and financial institutions.

Michael Hogan has joined the bank as Head of Transaction Banking,

Emea, in London. He previously worked at National Australia Bank in
Singapore as Head of Trade, Asia.

40
Nedbank Capital appoints Anne-Marie Woolley as Energy and
Metals Unit Head
Formerly Standard Bank’s Head of Structured Trade and Commodity
Finance in Africa, Anne-Marie Woolley provided a key component in
the revised trade structure, with three new divisions aligned across
agricommodities, energy and metals and bank risk.

She will report to Nedbank Capital Global Commodity Finance Head

Sekete Mokgehle.

Mokgehle said the bank risk stream would also be restructured to

incorporate a larger team with the international and South African
business.

Woolley added that her vision was to diversify the portfolio, which was
currently predominantly international trader-oriented, albeit with an
African flavour, and to develop trade finance structuring and execution
skills across the team members.

“Key to our success will be the forging of close ties and greater joint
transactions with Ecobank,” she commented.

IFIC’s new Deputy Managing Directors

Fariduddin Al Mahmud and Shah Md Moinuddin, two senior Executive
Vice Presidents of the bank have been promoted to Deputy Managing
Directors,

41
Mahmud, a marketing major from Dhaka University, joined IFIC in 1984.
He has experience in trade finance, credit administration, corporate
banking and internal control and compliance.

Moinuddin, an accounting major from Dhaka University, has been

associated with IFIC since 1986. He brings trade finance, credit and
corporate banking experience to the new appointment.

Westpac move Gordon Sparrow to London

Previously the bank’s Executive Director, Head of Trade and Supply
Chain Finance/Bank Sales, Gordon Sparrow has moved from Sydney
to London, taking up the post of Executive Director , GTS.
His remit remains the same, although he has added responsibility for
transactional sales for Emea and the Americas.

AIG appointments to London trade credit team

Terri-Louise Osborn and Duarte Pedreira take up the post of
Corporate Manager.

Terrie-Louise started her career in credit insurance on the graduate

scheme at Euler Hermes in 2007 and subsequently worked in foreign
and domestic risk underwriting and global account management for the
German insurer.

Duarte started his trade finance career as a forfaiting trader at the

London office of Banif Bank in 2005, moving to Standard Bank in Africa,
where he worked until 2013. He joins AIG from Caspian Sea Capital,
where he held the role of Director for Structured Trade and Commodity
Finance Advisory.

42
Tom Bryant joins as a Senior Underwriter. His experience includes
underwriting roles at Amlin, Euler Hermes and QBE, and a credit analyst
position at Stemcor.

Gearóid Finnerty joins as an Underwriter within the eBonded team. He

previously worked within a compliance role in RSA Ireland before moving
to Atradius Reinsurance in Dublin.

Michel Meylacq has been hired as an Underwriter, having recently

graduated from Manchester Business School.

Will Clark, Head of AIF UK, Trade Credit explained “Our emphasis will
be on how to provide more certainty to our traditional products,
especially by way of our non-cancellable credit insurance offering. It’s
clear that there are some significant shifts taking place in credit quality
across the globe and this will continue in the near to medium term. From
a client perspective it’s important to know that the credit insurance policy
will respond in terms of supporting companies’ current and future sales,
funding as well as claims,”

“It’s also clear that working together with the finance sector and
technology will shape insurers, brokers and well as clients’ business
models, allowing opportunity in terms of operational efficiency as well as
capital management. Our expanded team will help to reinforce our
successes of the past and our growth into tomorrow.”

43
Mizuho Bank has announced a number of moves within its global
trade finance team.
Masahiro Goda, previously General Manager of the Global Trade
Finance Division, Asia Oceania Department, has moved from Singapore
to Tokyo to take on the newly-created role of Executive Director of the
Global Trade Finance Division. He is replaced in Singapore by Kaoru
Mochizuki, previously Deputy Head of the Asia Oceania department.

Motoo Matsumoto, is promoted from Deputy General Manager of Trade

Finance Team Number 2, to become Head of the Emea Department,
Global Trade Finance Division and moves from Tokyo to London

Kanae Iomori is taking on the Deputy General Manager position

vacated by Matsumoto. She was previously part of the credit department
in London.

Junichiro Yoshiyama, Deputy General Manager of Trade Finance

Team Number 1, moves to the bank’s International Trade Business
Promotion Division.

Yoshiyama’s previous role is now filled by Koichi Asano, who was

previously working within the international corporate advisory division.

HSBC names China PCM Head

Lewis Sun has been appointed as Head of payments and Cash
Management (PCM) in China. He reports functionally to Kee Joo Wong
and locally to Terence Chiu, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC
China, and the Head of Global Banking and Markets, HSBC China.

44
Sun joined the bank’s China PCM team in 2002 as a Product Manager
and has since held roles including Head of Product, Head of Sales and,
most recently, Head of Global Banking Corporate Sales. He has 18
years of banking and IT experience.

Sun succeeds Kee Joo Wong who was recently appointed as Regional
Head of PCM for HSBC Asia Pacific.

Cotti sets up advisory business

Daniel Cotti has launched Cotti Trade & Treasury (CTT), an advisory
service for the Trade Finance and Treasury Management industry,
specialising in providing advice to banks, companies, investors,
regulators, government agencies and industry associations around the
world.

He will be offering advice on a strategic level, encompassing products,

solutions and people: “solving the what, how and who”, he says. “At the
moment it’s not transaction-specific, but I wouldn’t exclude that going
forward.”

As part of this new service, Cotti will be teaming up with fellow consultant
service providers around the world. “The idea is to create a network of
partnerships with other people in the trade finance and treasury space
and team up with them to provide solutions to clients,”

The first of these partnerships is with Treasury Strategies (TSI), a

Chicago-based consulting firm.

45
Cotti has 36 years of banking experience working for, among others,
Citibank, ABN Amro and RBS, His most recent role was as head of
global trade at JP Morgan, which he left last year.

Pravin Advani replaces Daniel Cotti at J P Morgan

Pravin Advani has been named as Head of Global Trade & Loan
Products at JP Morgan.

He makes the move from his current position as Regional Trade

Executive, Asia. He will remain based in Singapore and report to Andy
O’Brien, Global Head of Loan Capital Strategy for Banking.

Advani has more than 25 years’ experience in the banking industry, with
a focus on the pan-Asian, Eastern Europe and Middle East markets. He
joined JP Morgan in 2010 as Regional Head of Global Trade for Asia
Pacific. He has also held roles at RBS, ABN Amro and Citi.

Tan leaves JP Morgan

Tan Kah Chye has left JP Morgan and his position as the bank’s
Managing Director, Global Head of Trade Finance Securitisation. It is
rumoured that he may be returning to Singapore.

Tan joined the bank in November 2013 shortly after leaving Barclays,
where he had held the position of Vice-Chair, Corporate Banking.

BBVA appoints new Global Head of Trade

th
From 24 April Francisco Javier Fernández de Trocóniz will become
BBVA’s Head of Global Trade Finance and International Financial
Institutions, based in Madrid. This position was left vacant by the transfer

46
of Nicholas Shaw to London where he will head up the bank’s corporate
banking division.

Previously Fernández de Trocóniz was BBVA’s Head of Corporate and

Investment Banking for Spain and Portugal, and before that worked in
London, where he was in charge of BBVA Northern Europe Global
Corporate Banking.

Dalal to run Citi’s SCF team – moving from Singapore

Parvaiz Dalal has been appointed as head of supply chain finance for
EMEA. He will report to Sameer Sehgal, EMEA head of trade finance,
export and agency finance, and commodities. Dalal will supervise the
product, onboarding and sales capabilities, working closely with sales,
coverage and banking partners

He moves from Singapore, where he spent five and half years as Citi’s
head of structured trade and asset distribution for Asia Pacific. He joined
the London office in March, taking over from Abhijit Prasad, who left in
August.

Before joining Citi, Dalal worked at Royal Bank of Scotland, ABN Amro,
and Credit Lyonnaise.

47
SocGen names Collin India country head
SG has appointed Evelyne Collin as Chief Executive and country officer
for India, reporting to Singapore based Pascal Lambert head of SG's
corporate end investment banking division For Southeast Asia.

Collin began her Mumbai based posting on March 9, replacing Mark

Vives who left the bank to pursue outside opportunities.

She has 30 years of experience in risk, structured finance and the

commodities market, starting at SG in Hamburg in 1986. She spent the
majority of her career at the bank working with the natural resource
group of the corporate and investment banking division first as the
deputy head of structured commodity and mining finance, rising to global
head of trade finance.

Most recently, she was the Paris-based deputy head of corporate

commodity and trade finance, managing oil traders’ financing teams in
Europe while overseeing business development activities for Africa.

The bank has yet to name Collin’s successor in Paris but indicated that
her duties will be divided amongst the commodity end trade finance team

Rabobank hires Americas Commodity Head

Muriel Schwab joins Rabobank New York as Head of Trade and
st
Commodity Finance (TCF) Americas on 1 July, reporting to Jasper van
Schaik, Global Head of Trade and Commodity Finance.

She will have regional responsibility for the bank’s TCF activities in New
York, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago, working in close co-

48
ordination with the global business heads for agri, metals, energy and
trade finance.

Schwab has spent the past year finalising a masters degree at Yale. Her
last role was as CFO Asia Pacific, Board Director and Chairman of the
management committee at Gunvor Singapore. She has also held
positions with Credit Suisse and ING in Geneva.

Hedge fund Markham Rae Trade Capital Partners appoints two well-
known trade figures to its advisory board.
The first is Kah Chye Tan, the former chairman of the ICC’s Banking
Commission. He has worked in senior trade finance roles with JP
Morgan, Barclays and Standard Chartered over a career that has made
him one of the most recognisable names in trade.

Also joining the board is Sir David Cooksey, a former director at the
Bank of England, who worked as chairman of Bechtel, London and
Continental Railways, the Audit Commission and UK Financial
Investments.

The appointments are designed to augment the in-house trade finance

team at Markham Rae. The company CEO Jonathan Martin welcomed
the pair, saying: “Sir David and Kah Chye’s combined knowledge
experience and understanding is an invaluable addition board.”

Avot moves east as DB plan to grow their GTB offering in MEA

Sébastien Avot, currently director in the distribution and trading Emea
team for Deutsche Bank’s global transaction banking (GTB) division will
move from London to Dubai on July 1 to take up the position of Head of

49
Distribution and trading for Middle East and Africa. He will continue to
report to Boris Jaquet, Regional Head Emea for distribution and trading.

Avot joined the bank in October 2010, focusing on distributing syndicated

unsecured and structured loans for global borrowers into the Emea
region, in both primary and secondary markets. Prior to that he was at
BNP Paribas, where he was responsible for selling loans in France,
Russia, the CIS and Turkey, as well as some secondary sales, until
2010.

GE Capital MD joins HSBC

Inwha Huh joins HSBC as Head of Global Trade and Receivables
Finance (GTRF), US and Canada, from 23rd June. She will report to
Stuart Tait, Global Head of GTRF, and Wyatt Crowell, Senior Executive
Vice-President and Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Bank USA and
be responsible for leading and managing HSBC’s GTRF activities across
the US and Canada for commercial and global banking clients.

Previously Huh was Managing Director, Global Trade Finance Strategy,

at GE Capital and prior to that held a number of roles in trade finance
and commercial banking at Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and BNY Mellon,
in the US, UK and Asia.

She succeeds Prabhat Vira, who takes up the new role of Global Head
of Strategic Transformation, GTRF, also reporting to Tait.

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New Philippines country head at Citi
Aftab Ahmed has been named country officer for Citi in the Philippines,
effective from 15th July. Moving from his role as country officer for Citi
Hungary, where he simultaneously manages the bank’s Balkan and
Baltic Regions in Central and Eastern Europe, having previously headed
up the bank’s Egyptian operations, he will report to Michel Zink, Head of
Asean, and will be responsible for managing Citi’s entire service portfolio
– including trade finance – in the Philippines.

Ahmed replaces Batara Sianturi, who will assume the role of head of
the bank’s Indonesian operations.

In a 39-year career with Citi, he has worked across 10 countries, holding

senior roles in Pakistan, New Zealand, Taiwan and Germany. He began
his career as a trainee in New Orleans. He has also had a number of
regional remits, including director of retail branch expansion and
operations for Citi North America, consumer finance head for Asia
Pacific, and consumer cluster head for Pakistan, Middle East and Egypt.

Fehr replaces Daniel Son at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo has appointed Kai Fehr as head of international trade
services (ITS) for Asia Pacific, replacing Daniel Son, who has relocated
to Charlotte, North Carolina, to lead the same department in the US.
Fehr will report to Chris Lewis, Head of ITS and is based in Singapore.

Fehr will be responsible for business development, relationship

management and distribution for customers across APAC.

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Fehr joined Wells Fargo in 2014 to head up the Asia ITS sales team,
before which he headed up Barclays trade and working capital team in
Asia. Before Barclays, he managed structured facilities for UniCredit’s
Asian clients, also in Singapore.

Daniel Son has returned to Charlotte after many years working for Wells
Fargo and previously Wachovia in Asia.

UniCredit names head of trade finance, France

Dominique Honoré has joined UniCredit’s Paris team as Head of Trade
Finance International Sales for France.

She moves from RBS, where she worked for almost nine years as Head
of Trade and Supply Chain, France. She has also held positions at ANZ,
Barclays and Crédit Lyonnais.

The bank has also hired a new senior compliance officer: Aude
Oberrieder joins UniCredit Paris after having previously worked for six
years as compliance officer at Royal Bank of Canada before joining
Oudart for one year.

TFR scoop: Potter to join Deutsche Bank

According to a Deutsche Bank spokesperson, Angela Potter will join the
bank’s Global Transaction Banking Division later this year. Her exact title
has yet to be confirmed.

She is currently Managing Director of Transaction Services UK at RBS

where she has been since October 2012.

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Klink joins Scotiabank
Scotiabank has appointed Karl Klink as Director Trade Finance Sales to
further strengthen its European Global Transaction Banking (GTB)
presence. He is placed in London and reports to Pierre D’Avignon
(vice-president trade finance sales, GTB).

Klink joined the bank in March from Lloyds Bank, where he was looking
after the oil and gas, consumer and specialist finance sectors. He has
also worked at Citibank.

Mwaba to join Afreximbank

Gwen Mwaba joined Afreximbank in May as Regional Manager, West
Africa. It is believed that she will be relocating from London to Abuja.

Mwaba makes the move from Standard Bank, where her last position
was as executive vice-president structured trade finance.

Equnox appoints UK head

Equinox Global has named Nick King as its new Head of UK and
th
Ireland. King joins the London-based team from Travis Perkins on 6
July. King has 30-plus years of experience in credit management, in
both the UK and internationally. His previous experience includes roles
at Brightpoint Europe, NACCO Materials Handling Group and Atlas
Copco Compressors.

In his new position, King reports to Mike Holley, Chief Executive of

Equinox Global, who comments: “Nick’s appointment represents an
important step change in the scale, pace and service quality of our UK
business. Nick will bring invaluable experience, particularly of the

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construction and distribution industries, and his service on the boards of
our industry’s trade bodies will bring an important additional dimension to
our growing business.”

Commerzbank appoints India export finance advisor

Commerzbank has appointed Sujata Dabholkar as Mumbai-based
advisor for its long-term export finance business. She will be responsible
for expanding the bank’s client base for ECA transactions in India.

Dabholkar brings over three decades of industry experience in trade and

export finance and correspondent banking to her new role. She was
instrumental in setting up the Mumbai representative office of Bayerische
Vereinsbank, Germany (now UniCredit Bank). As chief representative,
she built up a strong platform for the bank in India, both with financial
institutions and corporate clients. She previously also worked at
Nordbanken (now Nordea AB) and HSH Nordbank (which she left to join
Commerzbank), where she was responsible for establishing the banks’
footprint in the Indian market.

Dabholkar reports to Cathrin Karpinski, Export Finance/Head of

International Markets at the Commerzbank head office

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