Virtual Offering: Join us Virtually From Any Corner of the Globe!
The BAFT Trade Finance Workshop is planned as an interactive virtual format, allowing you to attend the engaging sessions from wherever you are. Taking place over 3 days, 4 hours each day – it give everyone a chance to check in at work while still focusing on this important and fun information.
Speakers will be presenting virtually from around the globe. We’ve planned an fun, immersive experience, seamlessly integrating online participants and speakers, regardless of location. This approach ensures that no matter where you are located, you will be able to join the workshop discussions.
Earn 12 CPDs for Recertification of These Important Credentials:
CDCS
CSDG
CITR
CSCF
The workshop is approved for 12 continuing professional development (CPD) units towards your CDCS, CSDG, CITR, and CSCF recertification. Grab the opportunity to learn and network while also advancing your professional standing in the trade finance industry.
Who Should Attend?
This workshop is designed for a diverse audience within the trade finance ecosystem:
Hear from Attendees Why This is the Workshop to Attend
“As a corporate professional with 20 years experience in international trade, it brought a lot of tangible & intangible values. It was one of the most practical collaboration and brainstorming learning experiences critical to sound business decision-making. I commend the program committee for choosing the right topics and wonderful speakers that resonate with my experiences. I enjoyed, learned, raised questions and gained network with the attendees and speakers.”
“It was a great learning experience to hear from the great speakers and banking community Beyond the practicality of the workshop lies the opportunity to go much deeper and learn more.”
“It provided a real learning value for managers, and document checkers as you learn different topics from subject matter experts.”
All times are in EST
10:30 AM - 10:40 AM
Speaker
Fiore Petrassi
Vice President
JPMorgan
10:40 AM - 11:15 AM
How have tariffs impacted global trade (geographical, Industry)
11:15 AM - 11:45 AM
Speaker
Michael Avidon
Partner
Moses & Singer LLP
11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
12:30 PM - 12:40 PM
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
Return of the Mock Court, a fan favorite!
Judge
Michael Evan Avidon, Esq
Senior Counsel
Partner and Co-Chair, Banking and Finance Group
Moses & Singer LLP
1:45 PM - 2:25 PM
2:25 PM
All times are in EST
10:30 AM - 10:35 AM
Speaker
Normand Girard
Director of Global Operations
BMO Financial Group
10:35 AM - 11:10 AM
Game Host
Ellen Muench
VP – Trade Capital Markets Back Office Team Lead, Operations & Technology
Associated Bank
11:10 AM - 11:40 AM
Every Popular and Interactive - this session will challenge your understanding of Standby LC's.
11:40 AM - 12:20 PM
Speakers
Lisa Chin
Global AML Head of Trade Finance
MUFG
Fiore (Frank) Petrassi
Vice President, J.P. Morgan
Chair, BAFT Standby Letter of Credit/Guarantee Committee
12:20 PM - 12:30 PM
12:30 PM - 1:15 PM
Speaker
Bernard Hart
VP of Customs and Trade Business Development
Flexport
1:15 PM - 1:45 PM
1:45 PM - 2:25 PM
2:25 PM
Speaker
Normand Girard
Director, Global Trade Operations
BMO Financial Group
All times are in EST
10:30 AM - 10:35 AM
Speaker
Agnes Martinez
Senior Vice President – Group Manager Trade Finance Operations
City National Bank
10:35 AM - 11:15 AM
Speaker
David Tannenbaum
Director
Blackstone Compliance
11:15 AM - 12:00 PM
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
12:30 PM - 12:40 PM
12:40 PM - 1:20 PM
1:20 PM - 2:25 PM
Speakers
Frank Fortes
Senior Trade Finance Expert
TD Securities
Normand Girard
Director, Global Trade Operations
BMO Financial Group
Fiore Petrassi
Vice President
JPMorgan
Kris Siebel
Former: Chair, BAFT Standby Letter of Credit/Guarantee Committee
2:25 PM
Speaker
Agnes Martinez
Senior Vice President – Group Manager Trade Finance Operations
City National Bank
Registration Type | Early Bird Rate (until August 15)
Virtual |
Regular Rate (after August 15)
Virtual |
||
---|---|---|---|---|
Member | $995 USD | $1,095 USD | ||
Non-Member | $1,150 USD | $1,250 USD | ||
Team Rate* | *** $75 off *** |
*The team rate applies to institutions sending five (5) or more attendees at the full-priced registration rate. Complimentary and discounted rates do not count toward the group minimum. To register your team, please contact [email protected].
Please Note:
You will be asked to log in to your BAFT web account to complete registration. Your username is the email address you used during registration. If you forgot your password, please click the password reset link. If you do not have a BAFT web account, please create one first. Once you have created an account or reset your password, please return to this registration page to complete your registration.
To register for this event, please login or register for an account.
Michael Evan Avidon is Senior Counsel at Moses & Singer LLP, after 36+ years as a Partner there. He Co-Chairs its Banking & Finance Practice Group. He is widely recognized for his knowledge of letters of credit (LCs), lending, and secured transactions. Mike handles secured and unsecured lending; agented and bilateral deals; trade finance and supply chain finance, including discounting, receivables purchases, and payables agreements; loan agreements, LC reimbursement agreements, security agreements, guarantees, and participation agreements; electronic contracting, outsourcing, and white label agreements; and LC disputes and litigation. His work involves standby, direct pay, and commercial LCs, and demand guarantees. His clients include money center banks, smaller banks, and other financial institutions.
Lisa Chin is a Director and the Global AML Head of Trade Finance for MUFG Bank, Ltd. since 2019. She started her trade career as an import letter of credit processor for American National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago. Surviving a number of mergers that ended up as JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA, she held various roles in trade operations for 18 years until she moved into an AML/KYC role supporting trade finance and escrow. In 2015, she moved to HSBC Bank as Senior Vice President and the U.S. Head of AML Compliance for Trade Finance, where she managed an advisory team supporting the Trade Finance department. Lisa is a member of the BAFT National Letter of Credit Committee and the co-Chair of the BAFT Trade Compliance Committee. She obtained her CDCS in 1999 and has since remained certified. Currently, she and her team are working on a project to standardize AML processes in MUFG’s 31 trade offices around the world.
Mr. Frank Fortes is the Senior Trade Finance Expert, responsible to provide legal advice on complex trade finance transactions and training on Trade-based money laundering & sanctions. Mr. Fortes has 14 years of extensive experience in the Trade Finance industry that has been predominantly acquired during his tenure in France and Canada within the HSBC Group. Prior to joining the Toronto-Dominion Bank, he held various senior positions as Legal Counsel at HSBC France or Manager of the International Guarantees Unit of HSBC Canada. He holds a Master's Degree in International Business Law and is also CITF (Certificate in International Trade and Finance) and CSDG (Certificate for Specialists in Demand Guarantees) certified.
Normand Girard is Director, Global Trade Operations for BMO. He is responsible for the Bank’s processing of all trade finance products in North America and Europe as well as process oversight in Asia. Mr. Girard has 35 years of experience in Global Trade Operations at BMO. During his career with the Bank, he has covered every role in Import, Export, Standby Letters of Credit and Collections as well as integral operations leadership roles throughout the evolution of BMO’s trade finance business. He has been Chair of the BAFT Southeast Committee from 2011 to 2017. He is a Certified Documentary Credit Specialist and currently Chair of the BAFT National Commercial Letter of Credit Committee since 2017.
Agnes Martinez is an accomplished professional currently serving as the Capital Markets - Trade Finance Operations Manager at City National Bank. She efficiently oversees the processing of trade finance products, including Letters of Credit, Documentary Collections, and Supply Chain Finance. Before joining City National Bank, Agnes made significant contributions to JPMorgan Chase bank as the Manager for their Global Trade Finance West Coast division. Her expertise and leadership skills played a pivotal role in driving the division's success. Agnes's exceptional abilities and dedication to the field have earned her recognition in the banking industry. She had the honor of chairing the BAFT (Bankers Association for Finance and Trade) West Coast region and now holds the position of Co-Chair of the BAFT Regional Committee. Agnes contributes to advancing and collaborating within the trade finance community through active involvement in these esteemed committees.
Ellen Muench is a Vice President and Trade Capital Markets Back Office Team Lead at Associated Bank with more than 25 years of banking experience, including Supervisory experience, System Administration, and 16 years in Trade Services. During her time supporting back-office operations, in addition to delivery of Letter of Credit, Documentary Collection and Capital Markets products her areas of expertise have included process review and refinement for efficiency and risk reduction, planning, testing and implementation of system integrations and upgrades, and preparing and conducting product education and group training sessions across lines of business. She is a Certified Documentary Credit Specialist and a member of the BAFT Southeast and Central Regional Subcommittees and the Standby Letter of Credit/Guarantee and Commercial Letter of Credit National Committees.
Fiore (Frank) Petrassi is Global Product Manager for Standby Letters of Credit and Guarantees with JPMorgan Chase responsible managing and growing the global Standby Letter of Credit and Guarantee offering to the JPMorgan client base for all lines of business. Frank is a long standing member of the BAFT Trade Finance Committee and current Chair of the BAFT National Standby Letter of Credit/Guarantee Committee. He was former Chair of the BAFT North Central Standby Letter of Credit Committee and Co-chair of the IIBLP Government Mandated Letter of Credit Committee.
Ms. Kristine Siebel retired in 2022 after 45 years in the Letter of Credit world. At retirement she was a Vice President at Societe Generale in their Trade Finance Group, previously she had been a Senior Credit Officer for Royal Bank of Canada responsible for their Captive Reinsurance Business in New York. Prior to joining RBC, Ms. Siebel was Assistant Vice President and Standby Letter of Credit Risk Officer for JPMorgan Chase Bank in New York. Ms. Siebel began her career in Trade Services with JPMorgan Chase’s predecessor bank Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company. Ms. Siebel has extensive experience in both the issuance and the risk aspects of Standby Letters of Credit. She has been a member of the BAFT North American Standby Letter of Credit Committee since its inception in 1994 and was the Chair of the committee until her retirement. At this time she is also an Honorary Member of BAFT.
David Tannenbaum started his career in sanctions compliance while serving at the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC), the U.S. agency in charge of administering economic sanctions. In his capacity at OFAC, he oversaw the analysis of blocked and rejected transactions, and provided sanctions advice to some of the world’s largest financial institutions, Fortune 500 companies, and law firms. David created Blackstone Compliance Services, a company specializing in sanctions compliance, after joining the private sector in 2013. As the director of Blackstone, he served as the FRB-appointed independent consultant of a global financial institution and has led sanctions testing for three major monitorships on behalf of the US Department of Justice, Federal Reserve Board, New York Department of Financial Services, and foreign regulators such as the United Kingdom’s FCA and France’s APCR.
The 2025 Virtual Trade Finance Workshop is being hosted online via Zoom.
The virtual workshop will be hosted via Zoom Webinar. For a seamless experience, you need to download Zoom to your device, if you don’t have it installed. On the day of the virtual workshop, you simply need to click the Zoom link provided to you.
To join the virtual event, simply click the link provided to you. Zoom works on computers, tablets, and mobile phones. There is also an option to dial-in if you are unable to join online. Dialing in will allow you to hear the discussion but you will not be able to view the speakers or any presentations. Please check the dial-in numbers, meeting ID and passcode provided to you with the online link.
Yes, BAFT will send each registrant an email about 1 week before the workshop start date. The email will include the link to the workshop and dial-in information, including the meeting ID and passcode in case you cannot join online. The dial-in option offers local/toll-free numbers for several countries. You can always contact [email protected] if you have issues logging in to the virtual workshop. There will be a different Zoom link for each day of the workshop.
The workshop will be recorded and sessions approved by speakers to be posted will be available on-demand to all registered attendees post-workshop. An email will be sent to all attendees once the recording is available. Please note it will take at least 2 weeks (possibly longer) for the video to become available.
Please test ahead of time to ensure you can join the workshop via Zoom. Zoom works on different devices – computers/laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. If you cannot access Zoom due to firewall or company restrictions, please check with your IT team if they will give you a one-time exception. Alternatively, try joining via a non-company-issued device or dial into the workshop instead.
Yes, you can certainly ask questions via the Q&A feature during each session. Polling is available in certain sessions and attendees are encouraged to utilize the chat feature as well to dialogue with each other.
For more information, please contact:
Matthew Kaitz
Director, Business Development
[email protected]
+1 (202) 663-5556
“Very informative and easy to follow the presenters. The issues and topics discussed are pertinent to what we do today.”
Buffalo, New York
“he workshop was very informative. A lot of interesting subjects were discussed. Although I attended virtually, there was a chat available to submit questions and another one to interact with other attendees to exchange comments and points of view.”
Montreal, Canada
“The depth of knowledge and years of experience of the speakers and panelists was exceptional. ”
Wichita, Kansas
“The Case Study and Mock Court were really excellent to learn. The sharing of practical experiences was also nice. It was a really good experience talking with other participants and all the speakers were knowledgeable in their fields. ”
Toronto, Canada
“I was able to attend the workshop in person in NYC. The variety of topics covered over the 2 days was really interesting, I especially enjoyed day 1. Looking forward to receiving copies of the materials covered.”
Columbus, Ohio
“Very well organized. Quality speakers. Topics directly relating to my line of work (Export Documentary LCS and Compliance).”
New York City, New York
“The workshop was excellent! The topics were interesting, relevant, and very informative. The speakers were engaging. It was also nice to have such a large group from so many locations. I was unfortunately unable to travel to a live location this year, but the larger group from the 3 locations was very worthwhile. ”
Chicago, Illinois
“I learned about the real challenges experts are facing and the solutions they are using. I enjoyed the session "Voice of the Guarantee Issuer". The speakers were knowledgeable, the presentation was concise and simple to understand. The knowledge of the rules and applicability was top-notch.”
Vancouver, Canada
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