Trade Finance Talks

A financing shortfall is choking trade. Funding is disproportionately allocated to richer nations and large corporations with more developed export credit infrastructure and strong credit histories. 

Against this backdrop, multilateral development banks (MDBs) can bridge finance gaps through capital provision, regional involvement, and coalition building, which lower investment risks for private capital. MDBs step in where tr...

Latin America's (LatAm) abundant critical mineral reserves, including the largest lithium reserves on the planet, have elevated the strategic importance of regional trade, with the resources to tackle and manage global challenges, from an energy transition to an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.

For the third episode of Trade Finance Global (TFG) and BAFT’s podcast series, ‘Banking on the present’, Mahika ...

When US-Israeli airstrikes killed Iran’s supreme leader in February 2026, sparking an Iranian retaliation on US allies in the Middle East, many assumed this would be yet another flash in the pan in the increasingly volatile region. 

Six months on, conflict endures, proving more resilient and disruptive than anyone had bargained for, rerouting shipping routes and heightening concerns about the sec...

African markets are among the fastest-growing for receivables finance, but the solution remains virtually unknown in many parts of the continent. 

Yet as a financing model, receivables finance, also known as factoring,  lets businesses unlock cash tied up in unpaid invoices instead of waiting 30, 60, or even 90 days for payments. Through receivables finance, the supplier sells outstanding invoices to a third party - a fac...

Any conference, interview, or conversation on the future of trade will inevitably discuss the inefficiencies which need to be addressed before that future arrives. 

Although artificial intelligence (AI) is, by now, ubiquitous, a redefinition of value, risk, and information transmission can be solved by tokenisation. But what do digital assets actually offer in the current context of global trade? And how ready is the present r...

In an increasingly complex and fast-paced global economy, trade finance is undergoing a fundamental transformation, with digitalisation moving from a theoretical goal to an operational necessity. 

As digital technologies become a defining feature of the field, industry leaders are increasingly reassessing what success looks like - a shift driven by a rapidly evolving landscape where traditional benchmarks seem to no longer be ...

At the BAFT’s (Bankers Association for Finance and Trade) Global Annual Meeting, held in Orlando, Florida, in May 2026, these themes were front and centre. BAFT’s flagship conference brought together transaction bankers from across the trade and payments industry in a ‘mini-SIBOS’ where attendees combined bilateral business meetings with sessions exploring the sector’s latest developments.

For the sec...

• End-user needs are driving innovation in transaction banking, with banks focusing on integrated workflows rather than standalone financial products.
• Digitalisation, AI and high-quality data are helping businesses improve liquidity management, automate treasury processes, and enhance operational efficiency.
• Banks must embed services into clients' existing systems and workflows to provide flexible, data...

In 2026, prices of oil, gold, wheat, beef, and other commodities hit all-time highs, fueled by the inflationary effects of the Iran war. But one global good has plummeted - cocoa. 

In the last year, prices have fallen 70%. An industry riddled by moral and social challenges, including child labour exploitation, carbon footprint, and deforestation, is now also under economic threat.

The future of West African cocoa, in particu...

In the new normal of continuous geopolitical disruption and economic uncertainty, supply chain finance (SCF) is moving beyond its traditional remit. 

SCF encompasses a set of financing solutions designed to optimise working capital and improve cash flow for both buyers and suppliers. These solutions range from buyer-led programmes such as approved payables finance (allowing buyers to pay later) to seller-led instruments such a...

As supply chain difficulties and volatile commodity flows once again make headlines around the world, commodity trade finance (CTF) remains the backbone of global commodity transactions. The commodities sector has undergone an impressive evolution in the past decades, driven by macro trends and short-term shocks, and is now facing some of its biggest challenges yet. However, CTF providers are supporting the industry to improve its ...

Allianz Trade’s 2026 Risk Barometer identifies the 10 most pressing concerns faced by corporates for the year ahead, encompassing the views of 3,338 risk management experts, spanning 97 countries and territories. Doğa Usanmaz, Reporter at TFG, sat down with Sarah Murrow, President and CEO of Allianz Trade Americas, to discuss these changes. AI’s jump from eighth to second place in the Barometer rankings in just one year...