Events

2023 Asia Bank to Bank Forum

Overview
Register
Program
Speakers
Sponsorship
Venue

Overview

An Exclusive Event for Senior-Level Bankers and Financial Services Professionals

Join us for the 2023 BAFT Asia Bank to Bank Forum in Singapore on Wednesday, September 6. This exclusive event, held in conjunction with GTR Asia, will bring together 150+ senior-level transaction bankers and financial services professionals from across the region to discuss the latest trends and challenges in transaction banking, trade, payments, compliance, innovation, and sustainability.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from industry experts and network with your peers at this invite-only forum. Find out more about the agenda today.

How to Attend

The BAFT Asia Bank to Bank Forum is a free event by invitation only. Seats are limited, so RSVP as soon as possible using the link you received in your invitation email.

As a bonus, receive a special rate to attend GTR Asia 2023 Singapore as follows:

  • Non-financial corporates, including exporters, importers, manufacturers, distributors, traders, and producers of physical goods: Complimentary Corporate Pass
  • All other institutions not mentioned above, including banks, financiers, and consultants: 10% discount on the GTR registration rate

Registration to GTR Asia is optional and separate from the BAFT Asia Forum. Please complete this special rate form and choose ‘BAFT Asia Bank to Bank Forum’ or ‘BAFT’ in the Event Partner field to avail of the special rate.

If you did not receive an invitation, but would like to attend or have questions about the GTR special rate as a BAFT Forum attendee, please contact [email protected] and we will get back to you shortly.

2022 Asia Bank to Bank Forum Opening Keynote


Watch 2022’s opening fireside chat, moderated by BAFT’s President & CEO, Tod Burwell, featuring Alex Manson from SC Ventures, Standard Chartered on new business models, innovation and disruptive ventures, and the (re)evolution happening in the financial industry.

Program

September 6, 2023
September 6, 2023

All Times are in Singapore Time (SGT)

13:20 – 14:30

Networking Lunch

Lunch is open to attendees from both the 2023 BAFT Asia Bank to Bank Forum and GTR Asia 2023 Singapore.

14:15

Welcome

Tod Burwell
President & CEO
BAFT

14:40

Megatrends with Global Transaction Banking Heads in the Region

During a time of persistent macroeconomic and geopolitical turbulence, the evolving global landscape is presenting both challenges and opportunities for transaction banking. Leaders across the industry will address this subject, offering valuable insights – both from a global and regional view - on the most important trends that demand our attention.

Moderator
Lauren D’Arcy
Head of Financial Institutions, APAC and Middle East
Barclays

Panelists
Soon Chong Lim
Group Head, Global Transaction Services
DBS Bank

Ashutosh Kumar
Managing Director & Co-Head of Global Transaction Banking, Asia and Oceania
Mizuho

Shirish Wadvikar
Global Head, Wholesale Payments and Trade Strategy
SWIFT

15:20

ESG in Action – Accelerating the ASEAN Journey

While ESG topics have gained significant attention and sporadic successes have been acknowledged, the lack of unified approaches has impeded seamless regional advancement. In this enlightening panel discussion, we will explore how regulators, influential corporate entities, and financial intermediaries can work together to develop incentives toward models of collaboration that can be replicated across neighboring markets. We’ll discover how pioneering enterprises within the ASEAN market are enhancing the value proposition and taking ESG to the next level.

Moderator
Azeem Jamshed Azmi
Managing Director & Regional Head of Trade Finance, Group Transaction Banking
CIMB Bank Berhad

Panelists
Amarjit Chhina
Chief Corporate Officer
Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad

Chiun Chiek Wong
Director, Bursa Intelligence
Bursa Malaysia

Jing Zhang
Executive Director, Trade and Working Capital, Financial Institutions Group (FIG)
JPMorgan Chase & Co.

15:55 – 16:15

Networking Break

16:15

Impact of Fraud on Transaction Banking

Financial crime and fraud are recurrent problems for banks and intermediaries, causing losses worth billions yearly, and these sums are only increasing. The rapid adoption of digital payments – including those on real-time rails – also challenges banks to keep up with evolving threat types. For example, social engineering scams that target impressionable account holders are steadily rising. Identifying and preventing fraud at the right time is imperative for all financial institutions. This session will help to discuss real-life cases of fraud impacting transaction banking and how we can be more vigilant to prevent their occurrences in our daily working environment.

Moderator
Kaushik Mukherjee
Senior Vice President & Head of Trade, APAC
Wells Fargo Bank

Panelists
Baldev Bhinder
Managing Director
Blackstone & Gold

Dan Tinsley
Senior Vice President, Cyber Crime Prevention International
Bank of America

Tat Yeen Yap
Managing Director, Asia Pacific
MonetaGo

16:50

Deep Tier Supply Chain Finance

This session will release and discuss the recommendations from a BAFT-ADB Working Group to overcome challenges to scaling Deep Tier Supply Chain Finance. These recommendations flow from an Asian Development Bank 2022 white paper on the potential for Deep Tier Supply Chain Finance to (i) materially reduce financing gaps and (ii) drive transparency through supply chains to address environmental and labour challenges.

Introduction
Aparna Soni
Consultant
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Moderator
Tod Burwell
President & CEO
BAFT

Panelists
Angelia Chia
Partner
JWS Asia Law Corporations

Sunil W. Mascarenhas
Investment Specialist, Trade and Supply Chain Finance
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Samuel Mathew
Managing Director & Global Head of Flow and Financial Institution Trade, Transaction Banking
Standard Chartered Bank

17:30

Closing Remarks

17:35 – 18:45

Networking Reception

Reception is open to BAFT Asia Forum attendees only.

 

 

Register

RSVP Today 

The 2023 Asia Bank to Bank Forum is a special invite-only event with limited seating.

Registration is complimentary, but invited guests and GTR Asia 2023 Singapore attendees need to RSVP to reserve a seat.


Registration to GTR Asia is optional and separate from the BAFT Asia Forum. However, BAFT Asia Forum attendees receive a special rate to attend GTR Asia 2023 Singapore as follows:

    • Non-financial corporates, including exporters, importers, manufacturers, distributors, traders, and producers of physical goods: Complimentary Corporate Pass
    • All other institutions not mentioned above, including banks, financiers, and consultants: 10% discount on the GTR registration rate

Please complete this special rate form and choose ‘BAFT Asia Bank to Bank Forum’ or ‘BAFT’ in the Event Partner field to avail of the special rate.


If you did not receive an invitation, but would like to attend or have questions about the GTR special rate as a BAFT Forum attendee, please contact [email protected] and we will get back to you shortly.

Speakers

September 6, 2023
September 6, 2023
Azeem Jamshed Azmi
Azeem Jamshed Azmi
Managing Director & Regional Head of Trade Finance, Group Transaction Banking
CIMB Bank Berhad

Baldev Bhinder
Baldev Bhinder
Managing Director
Blackstone & Gold

Baldev is the Managing Director of the Firm. He is dual qualified in Singapore and England with more than 18 years of international experience across the world’s leading global law firms. Baldev is a leading expert in O&G and Commodities and advises on all aspects of the supply chain from trading and trade finance arrangements to international recoveries and arbitration. He is a leading name in trade fraud cases and his views have been featured in the Singapore Business Times, Bloomberg, CNBC, CNA and the Financial Times. He is also ranked for his work in international arbitration and trade by the legal directories of Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation and Who’s Who Legal. In 2023, Baldev was ranked by Asian Legal Business as one of the top 50 litigators in Asia.

Tod Burwell
Tod Burwell
President & CEO
BAFT

Tod Burwell is the President and Chief Executive Officer of BAFT. Prior to being promoted to CEO, he served as the Senior Vice President of Trade Products with oversight of all trade-related initiatives including the Global Trade Industry Council, Trade Committees, and other strategic initiatives of the organization. Mr. Burwell has over 25 years of trade, supply chain and cash management experience as a banking practitioner, as well as serving as a consultant to global corporations and suppliers of strategically integrated trade solutions. Prior to joining BAFT, Mr. Burwell was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase and held senior global management roles responsible for trade operations, launching the logistics business and managing global product sales for trade finance and logistics management.

Amarjit Chhina
Amarjit Chhina
Chief Corporate Officer
Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad

Amarjit is the Chief Corporate Officer of Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB), a leading Property and Infrastructure Developer in Malaysia, where amongst his other responsibilities, he is championing MRCB’s efforts in Sustainability. Prior to joining MRCB, he was Executive Director of YTL E-Solutions Bhd, while it was listed on Bursa Malaysia, and Chairman & CEO of its London listed subsidiary, Infoscreen Networks PLC. He also has 12 years of investment management and equity capital markets experience, having held positions with leading international investment banks in London, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Amarjit is an Independent Director of ABRDN Islamic Investments Sdn Bhd, a Member of the Board of Trustees of Yayasan MRCB and a member of the National Advisory Panel of the United Nations Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei.

Angelia Chia
Angelia Chia
Partner
JWS Asia Law Corporation

Angelia specializes in trade and supply chain finance across traditional trade products and products that support open account transactions. She supports clients from the origination to the distribution of risks in such trade and supply chain finance products. Additionally, she advises clients in disputes pertaining to such trade and supply chain finance products. With over 25 years of experience, Angelia has a wealth of experience in different jurisdictions and how jurisdictional aspects impact industry rules (e.g., UCP600, URR725, URDG758 and ISP98), laws on assignment of financial assets, laws pertaining to negotiable instruments and enforcement over security. She has also been involved and resolved disputes by deploying practical strategies in day-to-day issues faced by financial institutions.

Soon Chong Lim
Soon Chong Lim
Group Head, Global Transaction Services
DBS Bank

Soon Chong started his current position as Group Head, Global Transaction Services in August 2021. Soon Chong is tasked with leading a team of dedicated transaction banking and securities services professionals across the region who are committed to serving the needs of clients. In his current capacity, Soon Chong is also responsible for driving the digital agenda for the Institutional Banking Group.

Lauren D’Arcy
Lauren D’Arcy
Head of FI, APAC & Middle East
Barclays

Lauren D’Arcy is the Head of the Financial Institutions team for APAC and Middle East, based in Singapore. The teams’ focus is to support the banking requirements of large financial institutions through the provision of cash, trade and FX, as well as localized support. In addition, Lauren is the Global Head of Partnership Bank Relationships. In this role Lauren is primarily responsible for overseeing the growth and co-ordination of a segment of Financial Institution clients that we engage with across Corporate and Investment Banking. Lauren joined Barclays in 2011. Before joining Barclays, Lauren held various roles in the Cash Management team at Deutsche Bank in both Dublin and London

Ashutosh Kumar
Ashutosh Kumar
Managing Director & Co-Head of Global Transaction Banking, Asia and Oceania
Mizuho
Sunil W. Mascarenhas
Sunil W. Mascarenhas
Senior Investment Specialist (Trade & Supply Chain Finance), Private Sector Operations Department
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Sunil Mascarenhas works at Asian Development Bank as a Relationship Manager of Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program since 2019. Sunil manages ADB's Supply Chain Finance Program (SCFP). His main responsibility is to manage relationships with global banks to maximize transaction volumes, provide excellent client service, and ensure constant vigilance in assessing and monitoring risk. Aside from that, Sunil is responsible in driving initiatives to deploy Supply Chain Finance to newer developing markets and helping local banks in those developing markets to launch supply chain finance businesses with a view to making finance available to SMEs. Sunil has been working in the banking sector since 1998. Before joining ADB, Sunil worked at the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) across multiple countries and has worked in various roles in Trade and Supply Chain Finance, Commercial Banking and Risk Management.

Samuel Mathew
Samuel Mathew
Managing Director & Global Head of Flow and Financial Institution Trade, Transaction Banking
Standard Chartered Bank

Samuel Mathew heads up the Flow and Financial Institution Trade Product Team for the Transaction Banking business at Standard Chartered. In this role, Samuel leads the team in establishing the Bank’s flow and financial institution trade vision and capabilities for its corporate and institutional clients, and is also the Chief Product Owner responsible for enhancing the Bank’s trade finance platforms with the latest open banking and micro-services based technologies. In addition, he is the Asia Council Co-Chair for The Bankers Association for Finance and Trade. Since joining the Bank in 2004, Samuel has taken on a number of leadership positions, including Regional Head of Sales – ASEAN for local corporates and commodity clients; Global Head of Trade Solutions Structuring; Regional Head of Product Management for SoutheastAsia; Global Head of Collections and Accounts Receivable product solutions; and Regional Product Manager in charge of receivables solutions. Samuel has over 25 years of Transaction Banking experience with leading banks such as Standard Chartered, Citibank N.A. and Deutsche Bank. A graduate of Bombay University, Mumbai with a First Class Honours in Engineering, he also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Nanyang Business School in Singapore.

Kaushik Mukherjee
Kaushik Mukherjee
Head of Global Receivables and Trade, APAC
Wells Fargo Bank

Kaushik Mukherjee is Senior Vice President and Head of Global Receivable & Trade for Asia Pacific, at Wells Fargo, based in Singapore. Kaushik joined Wells Fargo, Hong Kong in 2011, from Axis Bank, where he spent 14 years working in various leadership roles in Trade Operations, International Banking, Corporate Trade & Cash Management, Credit and Treasury functions as well as Trade Asset Distribution, both at Head Office in Mumbai and its Hong Kong branch. He moved to Singapore in 2014 with Wells Fargo, to manage the trade business for Asia South region involving India sub-continent, South-East Asia and Australia, both for the Corporate and FI clients. He took over the role of heading the GRT business for the entire APAC region in Oct 2020, with team members based in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Japan, covering the Corporate and FI clients in the region.

Aparna Soni
Aparna Soni
Consultant
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

With over 17 years of experience in the banking industry, Aparna is a seasoned banker working with Trade and Supply Chain Finance team at ADB. She collaborates with multiple banks across various geographies, to advance the bank's vision to promote and grow supply chain finance. Aparna is currently spearheading the development of supply chain finance in the region. She has been featured as Women in Trade by Trade Finance Global (TFG) in 2023. Prior to ADB, she has extensive experience working with Standard Chartered Bank building relationships and growth towards the Bank's trade finance and corporate banking business, predominantly in the areas of credit, client coverage and trade finance. Her areas of expertise includes trade finance and transaction banking, credit due diligence and loan structuring.

Dan Tinsley
Dan Tinsley
Senior Vice President, Cyber Crime Prevention International, Sector Engagement & Resilience
Bank of America

Dan is an experienced figure in intelligence led cyber defense championing the protection of global brands from cyber threats for two decades. Serving as SVP of Cyber Crime Prevention at Bank of America in Singapore, he has held leadership roles at institutions like Dyson, Standard Chartered, and Barclays. His professional journey from a network engineer is further enriched by his collaborations with the UK Government and the National Crime Agency (NCA). In these capacities, he played an active role in harnessing cyber capabilities to counteract organized criminal groups, demonstrating his versatility and depth of expertise across industry sectors. With a deep grounding in intelligence and cybercrime, Dan is active in devising defense strategies, fostering international collaborations, and directing teams towards proactive cyber threat mitigation. His holistic approach to cybersecurity fusion seamlessly integrates business, fraud, and technology processes, emphasizing a steadfast dedication to both operational trust and cyber resilience in an increasingly digitalized world.

Shirish Wadivkar
Shirish Wadivkar
Global Head, Wholesale Payments and Trade Strategy
SWIFT

Shirish leads product management for Payments. In this role he consolidates all payments value propositions across commercial, corporate, currency clearing, Fintech segments for the enterprise. He is also responsible for the bank’s payment rails, digital currency products, commercial cards. Shirish has extensive experience in the last 13 years to deliver value added cash management and payment solutions across institutional, corporate, and individual clients. He has been with Standard Chartered for 18 years and has worked in emerging markets of India, Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. Shirish has 22 years of experience as a multi-region, multi-product professional. Creating and nurturing new franchise opportunities through emergent technology and strategic alliances are areas of passion.

Chiun Chiek Wong
Chiun Chiek Wong
Director, Bursa Intelligence
Bursa Malaysia

Chiun Chiek (CC) Wong is the Director of Bursa Intelligence, the function of the Malaysia Exchange that oversees the digital, data and connectivity solutions business for the Group, and also leads the commercial strategy to facilitate the transition to sustainability of the wider ecosystem including listed companies and their supply chain, regulators and financial institutions, via strategic cross-Exchange collaboration, corporate programmes, governmental engagements, sustainable finance initiatives and the FTSE4Good-Bursa Malaysia franchise. This endeavour aims to harness the convergence of data, digital and sustainability capabilities, to facilitate a cost-efficient transition journey for Corporates and SMEs in the economy, in a manner which maximizes tangible business value creation. As the Head of Bursa Intelligence, CC manages Information Services, Index & Sustainable Business, Enterprise Data Transformation covering data governance, acquisition and analytics, as well as the overall technological architecture and go-to-market of new digital ventures.

Tat Yeen Yap
Tat Yeen Yap
Managing Director, Asia Pacific
MonetaGo

Tat Yeen Yap is Managing Director Asia Pacific at MonetaGo, a fintech known for its fraud risk mitigations solutions available to financial institutions globally on SWIFT API and other channels, and for the Singapore Trade Finance Registry. Prior to joining MonetaGo in 2020, he had a long career in banking, predominantly in the areas of credit, client coverage and transaction banking. He is a CDCS Advocate, a DOCDEX Expert and a Chartered Fintech Professional, and has actively contributed to digital trade as a drafter of ICC’s eRules and ITFA’s URTEPO, a co-author of ICC Academy’s Certificate in Digital Trade Strategy and Sherpa of the Digital Trade Finance Lab of the Asia Pacific Financial Forum.

Jing Zhang
Jing Zhang
Executive Director, Trade and Working Capital, Financial Institutions Group (FIG)
JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Jing Zhang is Executive Director at Trade & Working Capital of JPMorgan, supporting Financial Institution clients across Asia Pacific. She joined JPMorgan in 2008 through JPMorgan New York MBA summer internship then Management Associate Program and completed rotations across relationship management, sales and product functions before locating to Singapore in 2011. Before her current role, Jing worked as Trade sales covering large MNCs and large corporate in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Jing was a Program Associate at the Points of Light Foundation in Washington, D.C.

FAQ's

Sponsorship

Sponsorship Opportunities

Join us for BAFT’s exclusive regional banking forum for senior-level transactions bankers and financial services professionals in Asia.

The 2023 Asia Bank to Bank Forum is an invite only gathering of 150+ senior-level executives and heads of transaction banking, trade, payments, compliance, innovation and sustainability, and additional thought leaders in the industry who are located in or have responsibilities for the Asian market.

The 2023 Asia Bank to Bank Forum, held in conjunction with GTR Asia 2023 Singapore, will bring together industry leaders and decision-makers from across the region to discuss the latest trends and challenges in transaction banking, trade, payments, compliance, innovation, and sustainability.

Options


Exclusive Platinum Sponsor – 1 Available

  • Network with top international transaction banking leaders in a smaller setting
  • Opportunity to participate on the program planning and drive Forum content
  • Keynote Speaking opportunity in the conference program
  • Seven invitations to this invitation-only Forum
  • Logo on conference website, conference marketing, and sponsor thank you slide
  • One-page flyer for the registration table
  • Pre- and post-conference attendee list (name, title, email)

Gold Sponsor 1 More Available (DBS Bank, SWIFT)

  • Network with top international transaction banking leaders in a smaller setting
  • Opportunity to participate on the program planning and drive Forum content
  • Speaking opportunity in the conference program
  • Five invitations to this invitation only Forum
  • Logo on conference website, conference marketing, and sponsor thank you slide
  • One-page flyer for the registration table
  • Pre- and post-conference attendee list (name, title, email)

Networking Lunch and Evening Reception Sponsor 1 Available

  • Recognition as Networking Lunch and Evening Reception sponsor
  • Network with top international transaction banking leaders in a smaller setting
  • Five invitations to this invitation only Forum
  • Logo on conference website, conference marketing, and sponsor thank you slide
  • One-page flyer for the registration table
  • Pre- and post-conference attendee list (name, title, email)

Networking Break Sponsor – 1 Available

  • Recognition as Networking Break sponsor
  • Network with top international transaction banking leaders in a smaller setting
  • Three invitations to this invitation-only Forum
  • Logo on conference website, conference marketing, and sponsor thank you slide
  • One-page flyer for the registration table
  • Pre- and post-conference attendee list (name, title, email)

Supporting Sponsor – 3 Available

  • Network with top international transaction banking leaders in a smaller setting
  • Three invitations to this invitation only Forum
  • Logo on conference website, conference marketing, and sponsor thank you slide
  • One-page flyer for the registration table
  • Pre- and post-conference attendee list (name, title, email)

For additional information, please contact:

Matthew Kaitz
Director, Business Development
[email protected]
+1 (703) 200-9071

Venue

Singapore

The 2023 BAFT Asia Bank to Bank Forum is held in conjunction with GTR Asia 2023 Singapore. The BAFT Asia Forum immediately follows the networking lunch on September 6 (day 2 of GTR Asia 2023).

Marina Bay Sands


Sands Expo & Convention Centre
Peony Ballroom, Level 4
10 Bay Front Avenue
Singapore 018956
+65 6688 8888


Sponsors


Interested in sponsoring the 2023 Asia Bank to Bank Forum? We can tailor your sponsorship package to meet your goals.

To discuss your sponsorship options, please contact:

Matthew Kaitz
Director, Business Development
[email protected]
+1 (703) 200-9071