HSBC’s strategic push to Asia promises explicit investment in transaction banking platforms and lending rates set to undercut existing lenders*, but the shift will be far less substantial than presumed.
Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has signed up for Swift’s Know Your Customer (KYC) Registry. Similar initiatives could help treasurers get onboarded with banks faster.
Cargill is increasing it use of electronic bills of lading [E B/Ls] to include agricultural shipments from South America. It also has designs for usage in Asia.
Global trade flow volumes have declined in 2012, dwindling to $37.7 billion and registering 217 deals in the year. This is down from $40.5 billion and 593 deals recorded in 2011.
The British bank, HSBC, has hired Quang Buu Huynh from Vietnam to Hong Kong to run global trade and receivables business in an effort to drive trade revenue in the bank’s key markets.
Dealogic released its tables monitoring trade finance for the first half of 2012. ECA-backed deals dominated the majority of deals globally, alongside HSBC who topped the charts.