Event News

BAFT Recognizes Honorees for Ambassador of the Year at 2022 Global Annual Meeting

Announced at the 2022 Global Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on May 3, BAFT is pleased to recognize the following individuals for their tireless commitment and contribution to the success of association and its work.

To publicly acknowledge individuals from member organizations who have volunteered their time and worked tirelessly with the association throughout the prior association calendar year, BAFT annually awards select members with the BAFT Ambassador of the Year Award.

Ambassadors of the Year are individuals representing member organizations recognized by BAFT on an annual basis. Following nomination submissions, annual honorees are chosen following a weighted voting process by BAFT staff.

Officially announced at the 2022 Global Annual Meeting, BAFT is honored to recognize the following individuals for the invaluable assistance they have provided to the association throughout the past year and for helping to continually drive the mission and vision of the organization forward. 

  • Rana Beydoun, Head of Financial Institutions, BLOM Bank
  • Caryn Pace, Managing Director, Global Trade and Supply Chain Finance, Bank of America
  • Barry Tooker, Chief Product Officer & Global Head of Product Management, iSoftware4Banks

We would like to thank each of the awardees for their time and recognize their organization’s commitment to the advancement of transaction banking. Each honoree has been recognized respectively for their contributions to the advancement of sustainability and support of the association’s work in the Middle East; leadership in the LIBOR Transition Working Group and Future Leaders Program; and development of BAFT education and training programs.

Honorees received their official awards at the BAFT Ambassador of the Year awardee ceremony in Washington, DC on May 3, 2022.

Premier of Montserrat to Attend Two US-Based Meetings

Montserrat Premier and Members of the Caribbean Association of Banks to Discuss Banking on Visit to the U.S. at the 2022 BAFT Global Annual Meeting.

MONTSERRAT/WASHINGTON – The Premier of Montserrat, Hon. Joseph E Farrell will be on overseas duty from April 23 to May 5, 2022 as he will be attending meetings in Miami and Washington, DC.

Premier Farrell, whose portfolio includes Tourism, will attend the Seatrade Cruise Global Conference in Miami Beach, Florida from Monday April 25 to Thursday April 28, 2022. His delegation will include the Director of Tourism, Rosetta West-Gerald; Project Manager at the Tourism Division, Charlesworth Phillip and Private Sector Representative, Tour Operator, Roselyn Cassell-Sealey.

In addition to their attendance at the conference which includes workshops, the Montserrat delegation will also attend meetings with several cruise liners and will have an opportunity to display Montserrat branded collateral during the Expo which runs from April 26 to 28. The Montserrat Port Development project will also be highlighted during the week long activities.

Following this meeting, the Premier & Minister of Finance will travel to Washington, DC for the May 1-4, 2022 BAFT Global Annual Meeting.

The meeting will provide an opportunity for the Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) Member Banks to network with North American banks at the largest correspondent banking event in the United States where industry professionals will be able to network, conduct bilateral meetings, and engage in topical discussions and sessions on the global transaction banking industry.

There will also be a Caribbean Banking Roundtable hosted on May 2, 2022 where BAFT and CAB will convene a group of Caribbean and U.S. Banks along with respective governments together in one room to discuss challenges in correspondent banking for the Caribbean community and opportunities to engage with North American banks.

BAFT Media Contact:
Blair Bernstein
Director, Public Relations
[email protected]
+1 (202) 663-5468

Follow Us: @BAFT

TFG International Trade Awards 2022 Open for Nominations, Steering Committee Announced

Now in its sixth year running, the TFG International Trade Awards 2022, in cooperation with BAFT, recognize those who have provided an outstanding contribution to global trade and finance.

London, UK –  Nominations for the Trade Finance Global International Trade Awards 2022, in cooperation with BAFT, are now open.

Award winners are recognized for their outstanding contributions to global trade and finance. Now in its sixth year running, the annual TFG Awards are presented to businesses and service providers in trade, supply chain, and receivables finance. The TFG Awards logo is used as a badge of excellence in both the intermediary (B2B) and direct (B2C) markets.

This year, Trade Finance Global (TFG) is announcing the winners at the 2022 BAFT Global Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on May 4, 2022.

International Trade Awards 2022 Categories

Global

  • Best Trade Financier
  • Best Receivables Financier
  • Best Supply Chain Financier
  • Best Export Credit Agency
  • Best Multilateral Development Bank
  • Sustainable Trade Finance Award
  • Tradetech Innovator Award
  • Best SME Trade Finance Lender

Regional

  • Best Trade Financier in Western Europe
  • Best Trade Financier in Central and Eastern Europe
  • Best Trade Financier in the Middle East
  • Best Trade Financier in Africa
  • Best Trade Financier in Asia-Pacific
  • Best Trade Financier in North America
  • Best Trade Financier in Latin America

Specialist

  • Trade Finance Deal of the Year
  • Best Trade Finance Education Provider
  • Best Trade Finance Law Firm
  • Best Trade Credit Insurance Provider
  • Best Freight Forwarding & Logistics Company
  • Best Islamic Trade Financier
  • Trade Digitalization Award

Individuals

  • Outstanding Contribution to Trade Finance
  • Rising Trade Finance Star

Steering Committee for 2022 Announced

The TFG Steering Committee is made up of experts and leaders from all areas of trade, including finance, technology, policy, and governance. Members of the steering committee will provide their impartial views to TFG’s leading annual awards campaign that aims to promote inclusive trade as a force for good.

Members

  • Mark Abrams, Trade Finance Global
  • Robert Besseling, Pangea Risk
  • Steven Beck, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
  • Noreen Cesaro, OWIT UK
  • Sean Doherty, World Economic Forum
  • Sean Edwards, ITFA
  • Emmanuelle Ganne, World Trade Organisation
  • Angela Koll, Commerzbank
  • Tomasch Kubiak, ICC
  • Maria Mogilnaya, Independent
  • Peter Mulroy, FCI
  • Rudolf Putz, EBRD
  • Harri Rantanen, Standardised Trust
  • Ian Sayers, International Trade Centre
  • Susan Starnes, IFC
  • Scott Stevenson, BAFT
  • NLN Swaroop, HSBC
  • Erik Timmermans, WOA

Find out more about the awards and nominate yourself or a company here.

TFG Media Contact:
Joana Fabiao
Marketing and Editorial Assistant
Trade Finance Global
[email protected]

The Banker: Attracting New Talent in Transaction Banking

The war for talent has never been greater, as many people have reassessed their lives and work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Transaction banking’s digital transformation, as well as its role in supporting the real economy, may give the industry an edge in attracting and retaining staff.

Via The Banker

The changing image of transaction banking – often seen as less glamorous and exciting than investment banking – is helping the industry appeal to new talent, according to panelists at industry association BAFT’s Virtual Europe Bank to Bank Forum.

Speaking on a panel entitled ‘The way we work post-Covid-19: attracting and retaining talent in transaction banking’, participants highlighted how the industry is at the forefront of innovation, making it a complex and stimulating environment. Additionally, transaction banking’s role in supporting economic growth – through cross-border payments and trade finance – is proving attractive to those wanting to make a positive contribution to wider society.

“While transaction banking is the foundation of the core product offering, it is also at the heart of the digital disruption and close to the real economy,” said Maria Chiara Manzoni, head of corporate and investment banking (CIB) people and culture strategic partner, CIB process and operational excellence at UniCredit. “As an industry, we need to communicate even more effectively to illustrate how diverse and dynamic transaction banking is.”

“It’s clearly an exciting time for transaction banking, which presents many opportunities for transformation,” added Emma Dunlop, vice-president and global head of human resources, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Investor and Treasury Services. She believes that demonstrating how it can link to the purpose of supporting the real economy, ESG or international trade could be a real differentiator for transaction banking. “Employees are seeking opportunities to align their personal purpose and values to an organization’s or to the work that they do. This is an opportunity for transaction banking leaders to promote and harness that thinking,” she said.

Both agreed that digital skills are essential when recruiting in transaction banking. “[For example] how artificial intelligence is changing how we process information and data – this is crucial for our people to understand. [We are looking for] more hybrid profiles, with experience in banking, fintechs and digital platforms, as well as business acumen, digital literacy and high-end skills,” said Manzoni.

The bank also looks for a vast array of soft and hard skills, she added. “For a big transformation, there are some personal characteristics that UniCredit looks for in our talent, such as accountability and constructive criticism. In one word, we’re looking for courage – the courage to take some risks but also flag when we’re taking the wrong turn,” she said.

The Human Side

“Data and digital literacy have been a huge focus for our future skills agenda, as we look to accelerate digitization of manual processes,” said Dunlop. “However, as mentioned, digital skills are only one aspect and it can’t replace some of those customer-facing human-centric skills that are fundamental to transaction banking, which is a very relationship-based business. We want resilience, as well as problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and financial and commercial acumen.”

Dunlop reports that RBC recruits from different sectors, such as technology firms and fintech start-ups, not solely from other banks. “There many different players that banks are working with, which is far more common now than in the past. We need to look at that as an opportunity for internal talent to collaborate and learn from other players in the market,” she said, adding that this helps with retention efforts. While RBC is focused on talent development and internal mobility, it also looks in the market or to partnerships to supplement staff skills sets.

During the pandemic, the number of fintech collaborations with transaction banks have increased, according to Tarun Khosla, head of trade and working capital loans, Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Citi. In trade finance, for example, transaction banks are working closely with fintechs to develop digital solutions – “basically co-creating solutions”. He believes that this engagement is also resulting in the movement of talent between fintechs and transaction banks and vice versa. “When we are working on a holistic solution design, the traditional boundaries melt away,” he added.

Another conference panel, ‘Fintech venture experience: sitting on the same side of the table’, showcased two successful bank-fintech partnerships: Barclays and SparkChange, which provides specialist carbon investment products; and Société Générale (SocGen) and Treezor, a banking-as-a-service platform.

There are numerous reasons for a bank to partner with a fintech, such as providing specialist capabilities that the bank doesn’t have internally, as in Barclays’s case, or enabling a faster time to market, as in SocGen’s case.

From the fintech’s perspective, a bank can help validate its business or product proposal, provide investment (SocGen acquired Treezor in 2019; Barclays led SparkChange’s $4.5m funding round in late 2020), as well as act as a dedicated sales and distribution partner, an advocate and a marketing machine.

But fintechs still have a difficult time accessing the right people within the bank. That is why SparkChange joined the Barclays accelerator program. “We partnered with Barclays [three years ago] because we heard good things about its accelerator program and found them to be very accessible and progressive in their views towards working with start-ups,” said Joff Hamilton-Dick, founder of SparkChange.

Onboarding Issues

Additionally, the onboarding process remains onerous. “We had to overcome some pain points when we [started working] with SocGen in terms of compliance, security, best practice, processes, etc.,” said Éric Lassus, co-founder, CEO, Treezor. But once it is completed, this can be a competitive advantage for the fintech, especially when dealing with corporates, according to Jean-François Mazure, head of cash clearing services at SocGen.

One of the biggest challenges is aligning the culture of a large incumbent with a start-up. In both panel examples, this was solved by a degree of independence for the fintech. Treezor, for example, remains a standalone project with its own roadmap and budget, and it is free to follow its strategic objectives, according to Lassus.

SparkChange has had “zero interference from a strategic perspective” from Barclays, according to Hamilton-Dick. “But, as with any good investor, Barclays is not afraid to challenge our decision-making from time to time, which makes it a very welcome and much needed sounding board to our strategic operations,” he said.

Afreximbank and BAFT Deliver Correspondent Banking Training to African Respondent Banks

170+ participants from 30 banks in 20 African countries offered an overview of critical aspects to consider when establishing new correspondent banking relationships.

CAIRO/WASHINGTON – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and BAFT (Bankers Association for Finance and Trade) organized a successful series of training workshops for thirty African respondent banks between May and October 2021 to enhance their ability to obtain and maintain correspondent banking relationships.

The three-day training session attended by over one 170 participants from twenty African countries offered an overview of critical aspects to consider when establishing new correspondent banking relationships.

In the current context where access to correspondent banking services is becoming increasingly costly due to heightened regulatory expectations, particularly concerning Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing, the attendees participated in an in-depth discussion on respondent best practices for due diligence, maintaining relationships, and how to engage money service businesses and fintech companies.

Denys Denya, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President in charge of Finance, Administration and Banking Services said, “As part of Afreximbank’s Correspondent Banking and Trade Services Strategy, we have been supporting banks in our member states to have access to the international banking market by providing them with trade finance lines and advisory Services. Improving the capacity of African banks to enable them to access correspondent banking services is also a key part of our mandate, and capacity building is a major activity in this regard.”

“We are delighted that the BAFT Respondent’s Playbook has been introduced to so many banks in the region. Our hope is that they better understand the expectations of correspondent banks and regulators, and are able to apply key takeaways to assist in building and maintaining correspondent banking relationships.” said Tod Burwell, President & CEO, BAFT.

About Afreximbank

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. The Bank deploys innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. At the end of 2020, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at US$21.5 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$3.4 billion. The Bank disbursed more than US$42 billion between 2016 and 2020. Afreximbank has ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A-), Moody’s (Baa1) and Fitch (BBB-). It is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

Follow Afreximbank: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

About BAFT

BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, helps bridge solutions across financial institutions, service providers and the regulatory community that promote sound financial practices enabling innovation, efficiency, and commercial growth. BAFT engages on a wide range of topics affecting transaction banking, including trade finance, payments, and compliance.

To learn how your organization can access BAFT’s Respondent’s Playbook Training or for additional training or educational topics, please email [email protected].

Follow Us: Twitter| LinkedIn | YouTube

BAFT Launches New Transaction Banking Networking Club

BAFT CONNECT, a subscription-based virtual networking community, will open October 20, 2021.

WASHINGTON — BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, today announced a new, virtual transaction-banking networking club set to launch October 20. BAFT CONNECT will be a subscription-only service open to members of the transaction banking community for networking, shared problem solving and content exchange.

BAFT CONNECT networking sessions will be held on the third Wednesday of every month and will include presentations from expert speakers, as well as small group roundtable discussions on developing industry issues. Members will have the ability to network via video and message chat with other subscribers and guests similar to an in-person networking reception.

Each monthly session will be two hours long and offered at two different times to accommodate different time zones and the global nature of the transaction banking community.

“With the absence of in-person networking throughout the last year, we saw a real need to help connect those within the transaction banking industry,” said Tod Burwell, President & CEO, BAFT. “BAFT CONNECT will be a great conduit for collaboration and will allow professionals around the globe to participate in a way that is both convenient and engaging, even after in-person meetings resume.”

To participate in BAFT CONNECT, individuals must register for a subscription and complete a member profile on the platform that includes their title, organizational details, and can include a photo and connectivity to LinkedIn and other social media accounts. BAFT members will receive a special member subscription rate and can invite guests to the club for free to an individual session. Non-BAFT members are also welcome to join.

Industry professionals interested in learning more about BAFT CONNECT are invited to participate in an open house on its launch day, October 20, but must register by October 15.

BAFT Media Contact:
Blair Bernstein
Director, Public Relations
[email protected]
+ 1 (202) 663-5468