Press Releases

BAFT Announces New Senior Vice President of Trade

WASHINGTON – BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, has named Craig Weeks as its new senior vice president of trade. Weeks, who joined BAFT this week, will lead the association’s trade-focused policy, practices, and education initiatives, and will support its trade-related councils and committees.

Weeks will work to advance the goals of the trade and supply chain finance industry through defining best practices on trade and supply chain matters. He will also be responsible for formulating policy recommendations and educating industry stakeholders including practitioners, regulators, policymakers and the broader business community.

“I’m excited for Craig to join BAFT,” said Tod Burwell, president and CEO, BAFT. “He has tremendous experience and has held numerous leadership roles within the industry. We are fortunate to have someone with such well-rounded domain knowledge, as well as years of experience, with BAFT.”

Prior to joining BAFT, Weeks held various leadership roles over a 40-year career that included corporations, banks, insurance companies and consulting. He held senior roles in trade at JPMorgan, Citi, and U.S. Bank, and served as the U.S. president of a credit and political risk insurance broker. Immediately prior to joining BAFT, Weeks was the managing partner of a boutique consulting firm. He served two terms on the U.S. Department of Commerce Trade Advisory Council and is a past board president of BAFT. Weeks is a graduate of Dickinson College, where he later served as a trustee, and holds a master’s degree in international management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

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.

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

BAFT White Paper Analyzes Digital Currencies and Financial Crimes Concerns

Washington, DC – BAFT, the leading international transaction banking association, has released a comprehensive white paper titled “Digital Currencies and Financial Crimes Concerns,” offering a thorough examination of the intersection between digital currencies and the challenges posed by financial crimes. This timely publication explores the evolving landscape of digital currencies and their implications for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) efforts.

As digital currencies continue to gain prominence in the global financial ecosystem, stakeholders are increasingly grappling with the potential risks associated with their use in illicit activities. BAFT’s white paper serves as a vital resource for financial institutions, regulatory bodies, policymakers, and other industry participants seeking to navigate this complex terrain.

“Digital currencies present both opportunities and challenges for the financial industry,” said Deepa Sinha, vice president of payments and financial crimes, BAFT. “While they offer innovative solutions for cross-border transactions and financial inclusion, they also pose significant risks in terms of financial crimes. Our white paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of these issues and offer practical recommendations for stakeholders to enhance their AML and CTF efforts in the digital currency space.”

The white paper delves into several key areas:

Overview of Digital Currencies: It includes an examination of digital currencies, as well as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), including their characteristics, mechanisms, and adoption trends. By understanding the diverse nature of digital currencies, stakeholders can better appreciate their implications for financial crimes.

Risks and Challenges: Recognizing the inherent anonymity, borderless nature, and decentralization of many digital currencies, the paper identifies the risks they pose in facilitating money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, and other illicit activities. It also highlights the challenges associated with effectively detecting and mitigating these risks within the existing regulatory framework.

Regulatory Landscape: The paper explores the efforts of global regulators to address AML and CTF concerns. It examines various regulatory approaches, including licensing requirements, transaction monitoring, customer due diligence (CDD), and information-sharing mechanisms, and evaluates their effectiveness in combating financial crimes.

Technological Solutions: It includes a discussion of the role of advanced analytics, blockchain analytics tools, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning algorithms.

Collaboration and Partnerships: BAFT examines the benefits of a collaborative approach to tackling financial crimes associated with digital currencies and the importance of partnership among financial institutions, regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies and technology providers.

Future Outlook: The paper offers insights into emerging trends, regulatory developments, and technological advancements for digital currencies and financial crimes.

Click here to read BAFT’s Digital Currencies and Financial Crimes Concerns. 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

BAFT Releases New White Paper on Deep-Tier Supply Chain Finance

WASHINGTON – BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today released a new white paper, Deep-Tier Supply Chain Finance: Unlocking Potential, which highlights the potential for deep-tier supply chain finance (DTSCF) to bridge the trade finance gap, drive liquidity to the most underserved segments of the trade market and enhance visibility within global supply chains.

Deep-tier supply chain finance is an innovative financial solution with the potential to unlock financing for deeper tier suppliers, where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are prevalent, by allowing access to finance by leveraging the credit risk of the anchor buyer. DTSCF not only unlocks finance at favorable rates for deeper tiers in a supply chain, but it also promotes an ecosystem of financial stability, risk management, and sustainability throughout the entire supply chain.

BAFT and ADB developed this white paper to provide a shared view of DTSCF, to outline its features as a new technique in financing trade and supply chains, to define what DTSCF is and what it is not, and to offer necessary definitions and legal frameworks to make it a success at scale.

“We’re pleased to have been able to build on the initial work done by ADB on this subject to help identify the key considerations to successful deployment of deep-tier supply chain finance, which can be a useful tool to help address the persistent trade finance gap,” said Tod Burwell, president and CEO, BAFT.

“Deep-tier supply chain finance is an exciting innovation that has the potential to drive greater resilience in supply chains and unlock the potential for SME-led economic growth, job creation, and prosperity,” said Steven Beck, ADB’s Head of Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program. “The publication details the next steps required to overcome the challenges in scaling this innovation and we’re excited to tackle these with our public and private sector partners.”

Click here to read BAFT’s Deep-Tier Supply Chain Finance. 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

BAFT Announces New Vice President of International Policy

WASHINGTON – BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, has named Andrew Price as its new vice president of international policy. Price will lead the association’s international policy advocacy efforts and relevant councils and committees.

“We are delighted to welcome Andrew to the BAFT team,” said Tod Burwell, President & CEO of BAFT. “His legal background coupled with his international advocacy experience will serve him well in this role and we look forward to working alongside him.”

Prior to joining BAFT, Price was senior vice president of advocacy and general counsel for the World Council of Credit Unions. In that role, he led the group’s global advocacy before various international standard setting bodies, including the Basel Committee, Financial Stability Board, Financial Action Task Force, and others. He simultaneously served as an adjunct professor for Florida State University’s College of Law. Price also held positions with the Credit Union National Association, First Commerce Credit Union in Tallahassee, Fla. and the state’s Office of Financial Regulation.

Price earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida and his J.D. from Nova Southeastern University.

About BAFT

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

BAFT Congratulates Graduates of the 2024 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 2024. The program – now completing its ninth year – recognizes upcoming leaders in the global transaction banking industry. The Future Leader graduates were honored at an in-person ceremony in Orlando on May 7 as part of BAFT’s 2024 Global Annual Meeting.

Nominated by their respective institutions, the class of 2024 included 39 individuals from 16 countries across six continents representing a variety of disciplines within transaction banking. This year’s group was divided into five project teams to address current industry issues and priorities including a resource guide for digitization in trade, a client due diligence questionnaire for ESG, harnessing the power of generative language models to transform transaction banking, B2B payments and the G20 FSB payments report, and human resources challenges post pandemic.

“Congratulations to the graduates of the Class of 2024 Future Leaders,” said Tod Burwell, president and CEO, BAFT. “We are thankful for your contributions and for the opportunity to play a small role in helping expand your engagement across the industry. We look forward to seeing your continued leadership growth.”

BAFT congratulates the following graduates from the class of 2024:

Adolfo Canales, StoneX
Alyazia Bin Suwaidan, Commercial Bank of Dubai
Amin ur Rehman, Standard Chartered Bank
Amro El-Far, Arab Bank
Ana Laura Contelli, American International Group (AIG)
Angel Spanos, PNC Bank
Anjana Mary Menasis, Surecomp
Antonio Muñoz, Deutsche Bank
Astrid Perrin-Megret, BNP Paribas
Bridget Bonilla, BNP Paribas
Cameron Stanton, Lloyds Banking Group
Carolina Gonzalez Marino, UBS
Christian Khouri Chalouhi, Intesa Sanpaolo
Christophe Bock, Société Générale
Christopher Finan, BNY Mellon
Daniel Vallance, RBC Capital Markets
Diego Puron Kelleher, Banco Mercantil del Norte SA (Banorte)
Frank Burgman, Barclays
Giovanni Paolini, UniCredit
Grayson Prickett, First Citizens Bank
Hilary Freedenberg, HSBC Bank USA
Iris Chen, ING Bank N.V.
Jagoda Dul, Citibank
Jialing Li, Deloitte
Jose Reynoso, Umpqua Bank
Kaylee Karumanchi Lord, Bank of America
Kubra Guler, Bank of America
Lianlian Zhao, BNY Mellon
Maria Fernanda Quevedo, Deutsche Bank
Michael Chong, Standard Chartered Bank
Mónica Dörr, Banco Santander
Natalija Katic, Banco Santander
Oskar Jerrå, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)
Pablo de Bacco, ANZ Banking Group
Patrick Wodetzki, Crédit Agricole CIB
Petra Gross, UniCredit
Sarah Bachwitz Mruk, HSBC Bank USA
Sivine Halwani, JP Morgan Chase Bank
Tommy Babos, Barclays

For more information on the Future Leaders program, including eligibility requirements, timing, and access to the project team research papers, please visit BAFT.org. The application submissions for the class of 2024 will start in late summer/early fall.

About BAFT

BAFT Launches New Women in Transaction Banking Initiative at 2024 Global Annual Meeting

WASHINGTON —BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, today launched its groundbreaking Women in Transaction Banking (WTB) initiative during its 2024 Global Annual Meeting in Orlando.

The BAFT WTB initiative was established to promote gender diversity and inclusion within the transaction banking industry. The program, which aims to foster an environment where women can thrive and excel, will provide a platform for networking, mentorship, and professional development opportunities tailored specifically for women in transaction banking.

“At BAFT, we recognize the importance of gender diversity in driving innovation and success in the transaction banking sector,” said Deepa Sinha, vice president, payments & financial crimes, BAFT. “The launch of the Women in Transaction Banking initiative reaffirms our dedication to advancing the careers of women professionals in our industry and creating a more inclusive and equitable future.”

The program’s unveiling was held during the BAFT Global Annual Meeting, as it brings together industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders from around the world to discuss the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in transaction banking.

As part of the WTB initiative, BAFT will organize a series of networking events, webinars, and a robust mentorship program designed to connect women in transaction banking and enhance their industry-relevant skills. Additionally, WTB will collaborate with member institutions and industry partners to drive meaningful change and promote gender equality throughout the transaction banking ecosystem.

“We are excited to launch the Women in Transaction Banking initiative and look forward to working closely with our members and partners to advance the representation and leadership of women in our industry,” Sinha said.

For more information about the Women in Transaction Banking initiative and other BAFT programs and initiatives, please visit the BAFT website at www.baft.org.

About BAFT

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

Address

Phone

Sitemap

Social