Press Releases

BAFT Congratulates Graduates of the 2025 Future Leaders Program

WASHINGTON – BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, today announced the graduates of its Future Leaders program class of 2025. The program – now completing its 10^th year – recognizes upcoming leaders in the global transaction banking industry. The Future Leader graduates were honored at an in-person ceremony in Washington, D.C. on May 6 as part of BAFT’s 2025 Global Annual Meeting.

Nominated by their respective institutions, the class of 2025 included 40 individuals from 17 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, MENA and Africa, representing a variety of disciplines within transaction banking. The class of 2025 was divided into five project teams tasked with addressing current industry issues, including artificial intelligence threats for trade finance fraud, accelerating cross-border real-time payments across major corridors, BRICS, operating model for corresponding banking, and an update on the almost 300 graduates from the program.

“This program has exceeded our expectations when we started it 10 years ago,” said Tod Burwell, BAFT president and CEO. “I continue to be impressed with the caliber of participants and value of their work. Congratulations to this year’s class for extending the traditions.”

BAFT congratulates the following graduates from the class of 2025:

Elif Seray Akin, ING Bank
Adel AlZarooni, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)
Mafalda Arnaud, Société Générale
Viktor Bakkioui, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)
Ayush Bhandari, Crown Agents Bank
Peyton Boles, First-Citizens Bank
Daranee Bolger, NatWest
Saad Chemseddine, BNP Paribas
Kevin Chu, RBC Capital Markets (Royal Bank of Canada)
Maximillian Chua, Standard Chartered Bank
James Deneault, TD Securities
Olivia Ellis, BNP Paribas
Laura Ernst, StoneX
Serena Fazzini, UniCredit
Harrison Gutman, PNC Bank
Gentiana Halimi, Banka Kombetare Tregtare Kosove
Jeronimo Hernandez, Bank of America
Ajay Joshi, Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank
Tina Kim, JPMorgan Chase Bank
Srushthi Kshirsagar, ANZ Bank
Tapiwa Kuipa, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)
Carmen Landeras Cabrero, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking
Audrey Lees, HSBC Bank
Xiaosu (Charles) Liang, American International Group (AIG)
Yuriy Lobanov, Commerzbank
Carlos Martínez Illán, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA)
Wan Chung Arick Ng, Bank of America
Awuzhaer Nijiati, ING Bank
Abigale Ning, Standard Chartered Bank
Oskar Nordlander, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)
Álvaro Ocampo, Banorte (Banco Mercantil del Norte)
Israel Ortigas, Bank of New York
Heidi Pun, ANZ Bank
Carmen Maria Ramirez Ortiz, Asian Development Bank
William Rattray, JPMorgan Chase Bank
Renan Reinoso, SMBC
Erik Rost, Citi
Elena Rozas, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking
Christopher Selfe, Barclays
Yang Wu, Bank of China

The whitepapers from each project team are available for members to download for free by the end of May, and a series of webinars on each project will run in June.

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. The association website is www.baft.org.

BAFT Elects ING’s Nick Smit to Lead Board of Directors

WASHINGTON — BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, has announced that Nick Smit of ING will serve as the chair of its board of directors for the 2025-2026 association year. Smit is the global lead of financial institutions banks at ING.

Based in New York, Smit heads a team of relationship managers covering U.S., Canada, Latin America and global banks, and their in-house asset managers. His specific areas of sales expertise are financial markets, global transaction banking, sector-based finance, and debt capital markets.

“I really appreciate this vote of confidence by the BAFT community,” said Smit. “BAFT has grown into the leading global forum for not only trade, but payments and cash management, and working capital solutions, too. I am very much looking forward to continuing the good work done in the past as we operate and grow further as an independent organization in the future. I value the thought leadership that BAFT brings and also the wonderful networking opportunities it creates.”

Smit has held several roles throughout his 30-year career with ING including lead positions in New York, Amsterdam, Brussels and Geneva. He has served on the BAFT board since 2022. Additionally, Smit has served on the Board of Friends of the University of Stellenbosch in the USA since 2000. Smit received postgraduate degrees in law and economics from University of Stellenbosch (South Africa), as well as a master’s in economics from Cambridge University.

Also re-elected to serve on the BAFT board as officers were:

Vice Chair: Michelle Knowles, ABSA
Secretary / Treasurer: Miriam Ratkovicova, Deloitte

Other directors include:

Suresh Subramanian, BNP Paribas

Tod Burwell, BAFT

Ashutosh Kumar, Mizuho

Julie Patterson, National Bank of Australia

Jean François Mazure, Société Générale

Dean Sposito, Deutsche Bank

Ricardo Velázquez, Banco Mercantile del Norte SA (Banorte)

Andy Arduini, Huntington Bank

Oscar Sanz-Paris, CQUR

Ayaz Kamlani, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)

Derryn Faure, Investec

John Kinyangi, Standard Bank

Patrick Devilbiss, CGI

Dyanne Carenza, Scotiabank

Paolo Muzzarelli, UBS

Rob Hostler, Citi

Brian Gordon, Commerce Bank

Mike Katergaris, JPMorgan

Maurice Iskandar, Banque Libano Française

Patrik Havander, Visa

Amy Sahm, Fulton Bank

George Lee, Standard Chartered

About BAFT

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

BAFT Announces Future Leaders Program Class of 2025

Launched in 2015, the 2025 Future Leaders class includes 40 individuals from 17 countries representing a variety of disciplines within transaction banking around the globe.

WASHINGTON — BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, today announced its Future Leaders Program class of 2025. Now in its tenth year, the program recognizes upcoming talent in the global transaction banking industry.

This year’s pool of applicants who were nominated by their respective institutions broke last year’s previous record. The selected class of 2025 includes 40 individuals from 17 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, MENA and Africa, representing a variety of disciplines within transaction banking.

The class of 2025 was divided into five project teams tasked with addressing current industry issues, including artificial intelligence threats for trade finance fraud, accelerating cross-border real-time payments across major corridors, BRICS, operating model for corresponding banking, and an update on the almost 300 graduates from the program.

BAFT board and regional council members serve as project sponsors and future leader alumni support the teams as mentors. The class will meet in person at the BAFT Europe Bank to Bank Forum in March and will graduate at the BAFT’s Global Annual Meeting in May.

“Over the last decade, this program has recognized and facilitated the continued growth of some of the top talent in our industry,” said Tod Burwell, president and CEO, BAFT. “The participants have a unique opportunity to expand their knowledge of industry topics outside the scope of their day-to-day responsibilities and provide insights that collectively lead to innovative approaches.”

BAFT congratulates the following individuals who were selected to this year’s program:

Elif Seray Akin, ING Bank
Adel AlZarooni, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)
Mafalda Arnaud, Société Générale
Viktor Bakkioui, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)
Ayush Bhandari, Crown Agents Bank
Peyton Boles, First-Citizens Bank
Daranee Bolger, NatWest
Saad Chemseddine, BNP Paribas
Kevin Chu, RBC Capital Markets (Royal Bank of Canada)
Maximillian Chua, Standard Chartered Bank
James Deneault, TD Securities
Olivia Ellis, BNP Paribas
Laura Ernst, StoneX
Serena Fazzini, UniCredit
Harrison Gutman, PNC Bank
Gentiana Halimi, Banka Kombetare Tregtare Kosove
Jeronimo Hernandez, Bank of America
Ajay Joshi, Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank
Tina Kim, JPMorgan Chase Bank
Srushthi Kshirsagar, ANZ Bank
Tapiwa Kuipa, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)

Carmen Landeras Cabrero, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking
Audrey Lees, HSBC Bank
Xiaosu (Charles) Liang, American International Group (AIG)
Yuriy Lobanov, Commerzbank
Carlos Martínez Illán, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA)
Wan Chung Arick Ng, Bank of America
Awuzhaer Nijiati, ING Bank
Abigale Ning, Standard Chartered Bank
Oskar Nordlander, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)
Álvaro Ocampo, Banorte (Banco Mercantil del Norte)
Israel Ortigas, Bank of New York
Heidi Pun, ANZ Bank
Carmen Maria Ramirez Ortiz, Asian Development Bank
William Rattray, JPMorgan Chase Bank
Renan Reinoso, SMBC
Erik Rost, Citi
Elena Rozas, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking
Christopher Selfe, Barclays
Yang Wu, Bank of China

Learn more about BAFTs Future Leader Program here.

About BAFT

BAFT Media Contact:
Mike Townsend
Senior Director, Public Relations
[email protected]
+1 (202) 663-5471

ABA and BAFT Announce Plans for Separation in 2025

WASHINGTON — The American Bankers Association (ABA) and BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking and an ABA subsidiary, today announced their mutually agreed upon plans to separate in the second half of 2025.

While ABA and BAFT have worked together successfully since 2002, BAFT’s global footprint and overseas opportunities have expanded in recent years, with more than 70% of BAFT member banks currently headquartered outside of the U.S. This necessitated a realignment of strategic priorities so that BAFT can better represent its membership.

“BAFT has been a valuable and strategic partner for many years,” said Rob Nichols, ABA president and CEO. “Though our paths forward will diverge, we will continue to work together on shared policy priorities and wish BAFT success in their next chapter.”

“As BAFT continues to grow globally, organizational independence will allow us to best serve the needs of our diverse membership,” said Tod Burwell, BAFT president and CEO. “We are grateful for the many years of support from the ABA and look forward to continued collaboration in the years to come.”

“BAFT has been the leading global industry association for transaction banking and this separation will further enable us to reflect the truly international footprint and needs of our membership,” said Suresh Subramanian, chair of the board of BAFT. “The support of ABA through the years has been invaluable to BAFT and we look forward to a continued partnership on areas of mutual interest.”

ABA and BAFT will work together to navigate separation details to ensure a smooth transition for BAFT members. BAFT will remain focused on providing thought leadership, best practice guidance, policy advocacy, education and training with a focus on the transaction banking business.

ABA and BAFT will continue to provide updates to their respective memberships as the process moves forward.

About the American Bankers Association

The American Bankers Association is the voice of the nation’s $24.2 trillion banking industry, which is composed of small, regional and large banks that together employ approximately 2.1 million people, safeguard $19.1 trillion in deposits and extend $12.6 trillion in loans.

About BAFT

BAFT Media Contact:
Jeff Sigmund
SVP, Public Relations
[email protected]
+1 (202) 663-5439

BAFT Releases New White Paper on Transaction Banking Sustainable Finance Product and Reporting Matrix

WASHINGTON – BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, today released a new white paper, Transaction Banking Sustainable Finance Product and Reporting Matrix. The paper provides guidance on transaction banking sustainable finance products currently being offered to both corporate and financial institution clients.

The reporting matrix is intended to capture, consolidate and display in a simplified, readable format the industry best practice for labeling sustainable finance transaction banking products. Similarly, it highlights the types of reporting necessary for each type of ESG-labeled product.

“The transaction banking industry needs more refined standards tailored to our specific products,” said Andy Price, vice president, international policy, BAFT. “Our hope is that this matrix will serve as a starting point for framework development and ultimately, improve the design of sustainable finance transaction banking products.”

“We believe this resource is the first of its kind, specific to the transaction banking industry, and can be used by transaction banking practitioners and clients looking to further educate themselves on what is currently available in the market, as well as novices looking to learn more about sustainable transaction banking best practices”, said Anna Plewinska-Pijl, director, FI transaction services Europe, ING .

The white paper and reporting matrix were completed with the help of BAFT’s working group on sustainable finance, as well as several industry professionals, including:

Nataša Kovač, ING
Natasa Pudic, ING
Anna Plewinska-Pijl, ING
Dorene Martinez, BNP Paribas
Kaushik Mukherjee, Wells Fargo
Laura Wilson, Investec
Maxwell Chesky, MUFG
Chithra Badri, CICB
Riaan Meyer, Royal Bank of Canada

BAFT intends to update the document as industry developments occur. Click here to read Transaction Banking Sustainable Finance Product and Reporting Matrix, or visit BAFT’s Library of Documents under BAFT Guidance and Industry Practice section at www.BAFT.org.

About BAFT

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

BAFT Releases Second White Paper in ISO 20022 Series Focused on Best Practices and Guidance

The comprehensive report offers practical insights for a seamless transition to the global financial messaging standard

Washington, DC – BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, today announced the release of its second white paper in the ISO 20022 series, “BAFT ISO 20022 Migrations: Best Practices and Guidance.” The report provides critical insights, strategies, and recommendations for financial institutions navigating the migration to the ISO 20022 standard for electronic data interchange between financial institutions.

As the global financial services sector undergoes a major shift toward ISO 20022 adoption, this new white paper builds upon BAFT’s first publication in the series and aims to guide stakeholders through the complexities of the migration process. With the upcoming deadlines and global implementation efforts already underway, the white paper serves as an essential resource for financial institutions, fintechs, and payment service providers at different stages of the transition.

Key highlights from the white paper include:

Roadmap for Migration: A step-by-step guide outlining key phases of ISO 20022 migration, from preparation to execution.
Best Practices: Practical examples and case studies from industry leaders who have successfully migrated to ISO 20022.
Risk Management: Identification of potential risks and mitigation strategies to ensure a seamless transition.
Cross-border and Regional Considerations: Tailored advice for managing regional and jurisdictional differences during migration.
Technology and Infrastructure: Insights on how to update and future-proof existing infrastructure to comply with the new standard.

“We are committed to supporting the global financial industry as it transitions to the ISO 20022 messaging standard,” said Deepa Sinha, vice president of payments and financial crimes, BAFT. “This white paper offers not just guidance, but actionable strategies that institutions of all sizes can leverage to ensure a smooth migration. It also highlights the importance of collaboration between industry players to drive standardization and interoperability in the global payments ecosystem.”

ISO 20022 has emerged as the global standard for financial messaging due to its enriched data format, improved processing efficiency, and ability to support new products and services. The “BAFT ISO 20022 Migrations: Best Practices and Guidance” white paper focuses on how organizations can unlock these benefits while minimizing disruptions during the migration phase.

Click here to read BAFT’s ISO 20022 Migrations: Best Practices & Guidance. The white paper is also available within BAFT’s Library of Documents under the Guidance and Industry Practices section.

About BAFT

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

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