BAFT Updates USD Payments Information Chart

February 26, 2020 by Jessica Moore

BAFT recently updated its chart of information required by over 50 jurisdictions for the processing of both inbound and outbound USD wire transfers.

BAFT first issued the chart in 2016 as an appendix to the paper entitled Practices and Guidance for Formatting Payments and Handling Inquiries Related to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 16.

A group of experts on large-value, cross-border payments sitting on BAFT’s Payments Committee brought the information in the chart up to date through end of calendar year 2019. Samantha Pelosi, Senior Vice President for Payments & Innovation at BAFT remarked that, “We are happy to provide this invaluable resource to the correspondent banking community again this year.”

The chart available to BAFT members at no charge and to non-members for a nominal fee. It can be found on the BAFT website in the Library of Documents, under “Best Practices and Industry Standards”.

February 25, 2020 by Jessica Moore

Following recent announcements by regulators and commentary by working groups on the importance of completing the transition to risk-free rates (“RFR”s) by end of 2021 (or in some cases earlier), BAFT and ITFA issue this joint statement as an update to the Guidance Note published May 2020.

Given the importance of transitioning to risk-free rates by the end of 2021, BAFT together with the ITFA are issuing this joint LIBOR transition progress note addressing the transition’s impact on the BAFT Master Participation Agreement (MPA). This is a follow up to an initial note published in May 2020 which introduced the challenge and requested that BAFT MPA users refrain from developing their own language for LIBOR replacement. At that time, we provided high level disclaimer wording for use in marketing materials, etc. in order to avoid insertion of any institution specific wording in the MPAs to allow for maintaining the integrity of the document in the market.

Now we are pleased to share this latest update jointly drafted by ITFA and BAFT for the benefit of its respective members. This document addresses the impact of the LIBOR transition on the BAFT MPA, a broader update on the timing of the LIBOR transition and, lastly, some recommended next steps.

We will continue to work closely with ITFA on this matter and provide further updates as more clarity emerges.

To read the LIBOR Transition Progress Note: Impact on the BAFT MPA, visit our Library of Documents under the BAFT Standard Documents section or click here.

February 24, 2020 by Jessica Moore

On February 13, 2020, the Global Supply Chain Finance Forum (GSCFF) made up of the major global associations representing the trade finance market including BAFT, FCI, the ICC, the ITFA and the EBA, published a Payables Finance white paper to allay concerns and clarify what Payables Finance is and how it works.

BAFT, a member of the Global Supply Chain Finance Forum (GSCFF), jointly published with its forum partners the EBA, FCI, the ICC and the ITFA the white paper titled Payables finance-how it helps global supply chains. The white paper is a factsheet from the GSCFF that explains the SCF Payables Finance technique-how it works and why, and when appropriately used, how it benefits supply chain buyers and suppliers.

To view the white paper, visit our Library of Documents under the White Papers section.

February 5, 2020 by Jessica Moore

On January 21, 2020, BAFT and other industry associations responded to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would amend the Remittance Rule.

BAFT jointly with The Clearing House, the Consumer Bankers Association, and the American Bankers Association, submitted a comment letter to the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) supporting it proposed amendments to the remittance rule. The amendments would create two new exceptions—one for exchange rates and one for fees—allowing banks to continue to rely on estimates when providing disclosures to customers. The CFPB proposed the amendments in response to concerns voiced earlier by the banking associations regarding the expiration in July 2020 of the rule’s existing temporary exception. Also in the joint comment letter, BAFT encouraged the CFPB to make greater use of the rule’s existing permanent country exception, which allows estimation of disclosures for remittance transfers to certain countries where exact amounts can be particularly difficult to determine. These changes would permit banks to continue to serve the needs of their customers who wish to initiate remittance transfers directly from their depository accounts.

To view the joint letter, visit our Library of Documents under the Comment Letters section.

January 13, 2020 by Jessica Moore

On January 13, 2020, BAFT announced the Future Leaders Program class of 2020, with 32 individuals from member institutions representing 14 different countries.

WASHINGTON — BAFT, the leading global trade association for transaction banking, announced today its Future Leaders Program Class of 2020. The program – now in its fifth year – recognizes upcoming leaders in the transaction banking industry.

Nominated by their respective institutions, the class of 2020 includes 32 individuals from 14 countries across a variety of disciplines within transaction banking. There are seven member institutions participating for the first time in 2020. This year’s group will be divided into four project teams to address current industry issues including the impacts of SWIFTgpi, the profitability of sustainable finance, IBOR transitions and faster payments systems.

“BAFT is proud to welcome yet another impressive class of transaction banking professionals to the Future Leaders program,” said Tod Burwell, president and CEO, BAFT. “It’s an honor to be recognized by your institution as a leader in the industry, and we look forward to supporting program participants as they work together to address some of the most pressing issues facing transaction banking.”

The class of 2020 will begin the program at BAFT’s Global Annual Meeting-Europe in Frankfurt, Germany and will conclude in May at the BAFT 2020 North America Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Several future leader council members will support the current class as mentors, joining BAFT board members who will again serve as project sponsors.

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

Suzan Al (Imam) Husseini, Arab Bank
Caitlin Blasi, CoBank
Carine Cremona, Banque Libano Francaise
Carla Dodds, Banco Santander
Fadel Elassa, Standard Chartered Bank
Maria I Galvez, BBVA
Brian Goldwasser, Commerzbank
Andrew Hale, ANZ Banking Group
David Hehlen, UBS
Lewis Heptonstall, Wells Fargo Bank
Adrian Hofer, Credit Suisse
Venkata P Javaji, Visa
Tarun Khosla, Citibank
Kamna Krishnan, BMO
Alfred Lam, Shanghai Commercial Bank
Jing Wei Joel Lim, Bank of America
Steven Liu, HSBC
Lynn Malka, J.P. Morgan
Tania Markovic, Royal Bank of Canada
Lee Phahladira, Rand Merchant Bank
Harro Prins, ING Bank
Luis Quilico, UniCredit
Alexander Rakhmanin, Société Générale
Yasminie Ramos, Barclays
Harsh Shah, Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics
Terence Tan, BNY Mellon
Akshat Tiwari, MUFG
Huy Tran, BNP Paribas
Niels Brand Van Duinen, INTL FCStone
Michael Walker, Finastra
Hebe Wildi, Lloyds Banking Group
Hoor Yar, Deutsche Bank

Learn more about BAFTs Future Leader Program here.

January 10, 2020 by Jessica Moore

On January 3, 2020, BAFT responded to the European Commission’s Public Consultation on Implementing the Final Basel III Reforms in the EU.

As the European Union begins the process of developing a Commission proposal to implement the final Basel III reforms ahead of the 2020 deadline, BAFT encouraged the Commission to take into consideration the impact on trade activities and consider utilizing discretion when implementing the Basel III framework. The response to the consultation follows a meeting BAFT held on October 31, 2019 with the European Commission to preview BAFT’s trade finance priorities for the implementation of the final Basel III package.

BAFT’s Europe Council’s Basel working group will remain engaged in the coming months. For further information, please contact Diana Rodriguez, Senior Director of International Policy, at [email protected].

To view the BAFT response visit our Library of Documents under the Comment Letters section.

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