The European Investment Bank (EIB) has unveiled plans to expand its role in trade and export finance, in a bid to boost trade with high-risk countries and help Europe compete with China.    The EIB said earlier this month that it will present plans to its board for a pan-European Trade and Investment Initiative, launch…

XDC Network is hoping to “re-energise” trade finance platform Contour after acquiring it from Xalts for an undisclosed amount last week.

JP Morgan’s new global head of export finance, Laura Galvin, has said that her focus is on “growing the business”. 

Creditors of collapsed trade finance firm Stronghold Global Finance (UK) Limited are owed at least £1.28mn and may not receive any disbursements from the company’s estate, liquidators have said.   A court placed Stronghold into liquidation last year after it failed to pay debts of £181,000 to seven creditors, including former employees and vendors such…

A guarantee provided by UK Export Finance’s (UKEF) last month to Jaguar Land Rover went beyond the export credit agency’s risk limits and underwriting criteria, requiring it to obtain explicit government approval for the deal.   The UK government announced the Export Development Guarantee of up to £1.5bn in late September to help the carmaker…

In 2021, JP Morgan created the role of global head of supply chain finance (SCF) to reflect the growing strategic focus on the business, and tapped long-time executive Heather Crowley to lead it. Based in New York, Crowley now oversees the bank’s global trade and working capital product strategy, product delivery and innovation efforts. Her…

Distributing trade finance products such as supply chain finance and short-term loans will become a “strategic necessity” for banks due to tougher capital requirements set to be phased in by the end of the decade, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has said in the latest iteration of its Trade Register report.   Under global…

Progress on shipping decarbonisation could slow after member states voted to push back talks on the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) net-zero framework, sector figures have warned.  The US had already rejected the draft terms on reducing the industry’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in August, describing the framework as a “global carbon tax on Americans levied…

Fintech company SecureLend has launched a 'first-of-its-kind' AI platform designed to automate business lending and working capital workflows.

The International Chamber of Commerce UK wants “digital trade superhighways” to replace the current “outdated” corridors.

Trade-focused fund Baghdadi Capital has completed a strategic investment in Teybridge Capital Europe, a Dublin-headquartered specialist in working capital solutions and trade finance.  As well as taking an equity share, Baghdadi Capital will facilitate an initial funding line of £50mn, with the aim of gradually increasing this to around £500mn.  The investment has been structured…

The Angolan government and HSBC have reached financial close on the €200mn water infrastructure improvement ProÁgua project.

Adoniro Cestari took up the role of head of trade and working capital solutions at Citi in New York in May this year, following a 25-year career at the bank that began in his home country of Brazil and brought him to the US a decade ago. He now leads Citi’s trade business at a…

Independent credit and political risk insurance broker Texel Group has further expanded its Singapore office.

Former HSBC Spain trade finance head Emilio Sanchis Gimenez will lead sales for its Global Trade Solutions business across Continental Europe.

Trade finance lawyer Laurie Hammond has joined London-headquartered firm Keystone Law as a partner.

US banks have steadily lost ground in the Asian corporate trade finance market, new research suggests, in a shift driven by the impact of Washington’s tariffs on China and local lenders boosting their capabilities.  The share of Asia-headquartered corporates saying they use a US bank for trade finance fell from 31% to 23% between 2017…

Nexus is expanding its trade credit operations into Italy with the appointment of former Aon business development manager Federica Paudice.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has extended a €5mn trade finance facility to Tirana Bank, part of a first-ever €10mn financing package for the Albanian lender.  The package consists of a €5mn limit under the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP), intended to expand Tirana Bank’s trade operations and promote cross-border activity in…

Working capital provider Katsumi Global says it is owed more than US$1.7bn by First Brands, court documents show, as creditors seek to locate billions of dollars they say have disappeared from the company’s factoring programmes.  US auto parts supplier First Brands, which filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas in late September, owes around US$2.3bn to…

Point Bonita Capital, a fund belonging to investment bank Jefferies’ trade finance arm, has US$715mn in exposure to receivables of collapsed US auto parts supplier First Brands.  The exposure represents around a quarter of the US$3bn in trade finance assets managed by the fund, a division of Jefferies unit Leucadia Asset Management, Jefferies said in…

Trafigura has closed US$3.4bn in financing facilities, including leading roles for Chinese lenders.   The global commodity trader says the financing was oversubscribed by a group of 43 participating banks. Six new lenders joined the facilities, but a Trafigura spokesperson declined to identify them.   The package consists of a 365-day US$1.1bn syndicated revolving credit facility,…

Nearly US$5tn in capital expenditure could be needed to address a looming shortfall in metals supply, consultancy giant McKinsey says, but low commodity prices continue to make projects uneconomic.  McKinsey has long warned that demand for commodities such as copper, nickel and lithium is expected to exceed supply by 2035, with mining projects not expanding…

The bank said its latest facility received US$567mn in commitments from international lenders, in a sign of its growing global appeal.

The impact of US tariffs on global trade is now likely to be felt next year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has said, after unveiling a more positive outlook for 2025.   Global goods trade has performed much better in the first half of 2025 than the WTO predicted earlier in the year, the organisation…

UAE-based bank Emirates Islamic has launched a fully digital, shariah-compliant supply chain finance solution named Islamic smartSCF. The digital product, which Emirates Islamic has deemed the ‘first-of-its-kind’, offers working capital and liquidity solutions to businesses through a “completely digital journey”, the bank says. Corporates can use the web-based platform to onboard their suppliers under the…

SMBC has appointed Steve Robson as co-head of transaction banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea). Robson joins SMBC from HSBC, where he was global head of liquidity for its international wealth and premier banking division. He will be based in London and report directly to Elena Paitra, head of corporate and investment…

Denmark’s export credit agency has guaranteed a Barclays loan to GeoPura, a UK-based company aiming to produce green hydrogen “at scale”.   The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) is covering £16.5mn of a £27mn loan provided by Barclays to GeoPura, which has developed a production facility in England that is set to begin…

Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), a London-headquartered specialist underwriter, has welcomed James Wilson as head of special risks. Wilson joins from The Hartford, where he was head of political risks, and head of credit and political risk insurance. He reports into Vivek Syal, chief underwriting officer for TMK, and replaces Edward Parker in the role. The…

UK-based trade credit insurtech Bondaval has announced that former Markel International director Simon Philpin will join as group chief commercial underwriting officer, effective from December. Philpin has spent nearly 12 years at Markel, most recently as director of trade credit, and has held senior underwriting roles at Equinox Global and Atradius. He has also served…

India’s Kotak Mahindra Bank has appointed Megha Chopra as head of trade, a new role combining sales and product.   Chopra made the move to Kotak Mahindra’s wholesale, commercial and consumer bank from Citi, where she was a managing director and global head of the trade client desk, and previously head of trade and working…

A Gloucestershire food business has successfully broken into Southeast Asian markets in the first iteration of a new UK Export Finance (UKEF) facility that helps small exporters. Cotswolds company TruffleHunter, which produces truffle-based products and gourmet ingredients, used UKEF’s ‘Small Exporter Builder’ (SEB) facility to secure contracts worth £22,500 in Malaysia and the Philippines –…

Working capital platform Raistone earned the bulk of its revenue from First Brands Group, which filed for bankruptcy protection this week, GTR understands.  The New York-headquartered company has originated financing for First Group companies for several years, and multiple sources told GTR this week they understood the relationship made up as much as four-fifths of…

The results of a digital trade initiative in Africa show the continent has made progress but barriers to paperless trade persist, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Bank.  The organisations have carried out digital trade reviews for six countries – Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda – to identify…

Specialty broker Impello Global has hired former Marsh director Ed Yauch (pictured) as senior market leader, as the Seattle-headquartered firm continues to expand its operations.  Yauch joins the boutique advisory firm and trade credit insurance broker this October from global insurance brokerage Marsh, where he held several roles since first joining in 1994, most recently…

Financial technology provider Finastra has launched Trade Innovation Nexus, an integration layer that simplifies access to its platform, as it looks to spur banks to “innovate faster”. Showcased at this year’s Sibos, held in Frankfurt this week, the integration layer aims to improve the interoperability of Trade Innovation, Finastra’s platform for working capital finance. “Designed…

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved a US$10mn trade finance transaction guarantee for Exim Bank Tanzania to support trade deals. The move will “unlock and de-risk” trade finance lines for the commercial bank, the AfDB says, while expanding access to essential imports and bolstering Tanzania’s private sector.   The facility will provide up to…

An independent investigation into First Brands Group’s bankruptcy is probing whether receivables may have been financed multiple times, after the company accrued US$2.3bn in factoring liabilities.   US car parts supplier First Brands filed for bankruptcy in Texas on September 28, leaving a group of supply chain finance funders facing exposures of hundreds of millions dollars.  …

A raft of regulations related to sustainability and ESG have entered into force in recent years, with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) among the most transformative for global agricultural businesses trading with the region. Traceability remains a key focus of the legislation, which focuses on cocoa, soya, beef, coffee, palm oil, rubber and wood. Under…

HSBC Asset Management has launched a private credit strategy allowing investors to invest in a range of trade finance assets, with access to the bank’s existing deal flow.  The strategy is aimed at institutional investors in Europe, Asia, Canada, Australia and the Middle East, and involves investing in short-term trade finance and working capital assets such…

Trafigura has renewed and expanded two revolving credit facilities backed by the Export-Import Bank of the US (US Exim) to support energy exports to Europe, Asia and South America.  The deal renews facilities totalling US$400mn agreed in 2023, and expands the scope of eligible products beyond LNG, also covering crude oil, refined petroleum and petrochemicals. …

A group of supply chain finance providers have more than US$866mn exposure to US car parts supplier First Brands Group, which has filed for bankruptcy protection.  First Brands Group has faced investor scrutiny for weeks after Jefferies reportedly struggled to raise a further US$6bn in debt for the Michigan company. Media reports said lenders had…

Export finance is being reshaped, with untied solutions, critical mineral initiatives and blended structures moving to the fore. Bank of America’s Pat Gang, head of export and agency finance, shares how the bank is helping shape this transformation and why borrowers and investors are responding to the change.  For decades, export credit agencies (ECAs) have…

Enigio has brought in digital trade and working capital specialist Merisa Lee Gimpel as a consultant, to help drive adoption of the fintech’s flagship product.   Gimpel founded consultancy Digital Trade Works earlier this year after departing as Revolut’s first head of supply chain finance.   Under the arrangement, Gimpel tells GTR she will lead Enigio’s product…

Pemberton Asset Management has appointed Tradeteq co-founder Nils Behling as managing director and chief operating officer of its working capital division, as well as COO of inventory finance platform Invensa.  London-based Behling joins Pemberton, a private credit manager with US$28bn in assets under management, after more than nine years as chief operating officer at Tradeteq. …

Speciality re/insurer Canopius has hired Swiss Re’s Norm Kimber as a credit and political risk underwriter.   Kimber will begin the role from January 1 next year and remains based in London, reporting to Patrick Sheriff, Canopius’ head of credit and political risk.   Canopius says Kimber “will play a key role in strengthening the credit and…

Bank of America has appointed former Santander and JP Morgan trade head Mike McDonough as managing director and global head of traditional trade product.  New York-based McDonough joins after nearly five years as head of working capital solutions at Santander North America. He previously spent a decade at JP Morgan, holding several roles in trade…

Global maritime trade growth is expected to stall in 2025 due to increased uncertainty and higher costs, a new UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report reveals. Geopolitical tensions, shifting trade policies, climate change and regulatory developments are redrawing shipping routes and driving up costs for businesses, according to the UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2025…

Baft (Bankers Association for Finance and Trade) and other industry bodies have urged EU member states to be consistent in implementing the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) 6 to avoid disrupting cross-border financial services. CRD6 is the latest iteration of the directive that requires banks and investment companies to put aside capital as insulation against financial…

Société Générale has appointed Zvi Wohlgemuth as global head of development and structured export finance. In the new role, Wohlgemuth will be responsible for the development of Société Générale’s financing and advisory solutions for importers and exporters, the bank says. He will also look to facilitate investments across sustainable development and the energy transition, as…