GTLP Initial Progress Remarkable

according to Industry Experts

The Global Trade Liquidity Program (GTLP) is a unique, coordinated global initiative that brings together governments, development finance institutions (DFIs), and private sector banks to support trade in developing markets and address the shortage of trade finance resulting from the global financial crisis.

GTLP began its operations in May 2009, channeling much-needed funds to back trade in developing countries. With targeted commitments of $4 billion from public sector sources, the program should be able to support up to $45 billion of trade in three years. It raises funds from international finance and development institutions, governments, and banks, and it works through global and regional banks to extend trade finance to importers and exporters in developing countries. IFC’s commitment to the program is $1 billion.

GTLP is currently progressing to Phase 2 of the program. Phase 2 was launched in January ’10 with an unfunded solution, based on the existing GTLP platform, to support trade finance in the emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe. It is planned to expand to cover Africa and Latin America. Phase 2 also will include directed Food and Agribusiness solutions, a response to the global call for action in this critical sector.

Since its launch in July 2009, GTLP has been acknowledged in the financial industry as an innovative structure to help infuse much needed liquidity into the trade finance market, thereby catalyzing global trade growth. The solution also represents a win-win proposition: for the banks it provides an opportunity to continue supporting clients through these difficult times; for IFC and its partners, it affords the ability to channel liquidity and credit into markets to help revitalize trade flows by leveraging on the banks’ vast networks across emerging markets in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe, and Latin America. The program is already benefitting thousands of importers and exporters and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Disbursements:

As of June 30, 2011 a total of US$1.773 billion of funding has been disbursed to eight program banks.

eBSI Participates as Partner at

IIBLP Annual Survey

Singapore, IIBLP Annual Survey 2011

The Annual Survey is the premier LC event of the Year. It is the only truly global forum dedicated to letters of credit. With its unique combination of moderators, panelists, attendees and materials, the Annual Survey offers an unsurpassed networking opportunity, placing you face-to-face with over 100 of the leading LC professionals from every discipline in the industry.  eBSI Director Vincent O'Brien attended this very successful IIBLP Annual Survey in Letters of Credit on 18-19 July 2011.

Running for over a decade, the sessions are attended by over 500 letter of credit professionals from banks, law firms, corporations and universities throughout the world.  This years survey was one of the biggest in the history of the IIBLP which reflects the importance of this annual event.

Vincent O'Brien Awards certificates to participants in his newly appointed role as Associated Director for the Institute of International Banking Law and Practice (IIBLP). At the event: Professor James Byrne, IIBLP Founder, Soh Chee Seng, local LC Expert with Eileen Wong, from Singapore, and Vincent O'Brien.

Trade Finance Operations Seminar

Kampala, Uganda - eBSI and IFC Africa Region delivered a very successful regional group training in Kampala Uganda from 13-17 June 2011.

The curriculum for the course is aimed at deepening knowledge and skills on trade finance.

Areas covered included back office operations, documentary credits, documentary collections. methods of financing and much more.

International Trade Finance Cases :

Analysis and Solutions

Seminars with ICC Bangladesh

"The Advent and continuing challenges of the financial crisis has seen a dramatic increase in payment defaults and discrepancies leading to disputes between trading partners in international trade", said ICCB President Mahbubur Rahman while inaugurating the daylong workshop on International Trade Finance: Cases-Analysis and Solutions organised by the ICC Bangladesh with eBSI at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, Dhaka on March 9. This increase in risk has seen a surge in returning to the use of the traditional trade finance instruments such as commercial letters of credit and standby letters of credit by the parties.

The ICC Bangladesh President also said that International Trade has exerted a profound influence on the economic growth of the country. It has been observed that with the opening up of the economy and liberalization of trade, developing countries, especially India and China, have grown over the years.

International trade injects global competitiveness and hence the domestic business units tend to become very efficient being exposed to international competition. Due to the integration with the world economy the entrepreneurs can have easy access to technological innovations. They can utilize the latest technologies to enhance their productivity. In this regard, it is also important for professionals and others concerned to be proficient in international trade finance, he added.

According to the recently published global survey ‘Rethinking Trade Finance 2010’on trade finance by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), 34% of respondents had seen an increase in refusals, 44% had seen an increase in claims under standby LC’s, 23% of respondents (up from 12% in 2009) had experienced an increase in the number of court injunctions stopping payment under bank undertakings and 73% of respondents experienced increases in confirmations, Vincent O'Brien added.

The ICC Bangladesh President observed that international trade injects global competitiveness and hence the domestic business units tend to become very efficient being exposed to international competition. Due to the integration with the world economy the entrepreneurs can have easy access to the technological innovations. Therefore, there is an urgent need for advanced knowledge in documentary credit operations and management and essential for the professionals concerned to be proficient in the international trade finance, he concluded.
Chairman of ICCB Standing Committee on Banking Technique & Practices, Mamun Rashid in his welcome address said that presently more than 80% transactions are made through open ended L/Cs. So he hoped that Bangladeshi exporters within the shortest possible time will be able to follow the international practice.

ICCB Secretary General Ataur Rahman mentioned that for the first time ICC Bangladesh has organized this particular workshop covering actual cases for the participants to achieve maximum practical benefit in everyday documentary credit operations and risk management. He also said that since 2008 ICC Bangladesh has been organizing regular IFC FIT Initiative (Finance of International Trade), developed jointly by ICC Bangladesh and eBusiness School International of Ireland (eBSI) with support from International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Certified Documentary Credit Specialist (CDCS) Examin- ation of ifs School of Finance, UK.

A long standing Member of the ICC Banking Commission and a representative of ICC Banking Commission to the WTO Expert Group on the Financial Crisis Vincent O’Brien,from eBSI conducted the workshop on the occasion.

A total of 109 participants from banks, financial institutions and export oriented industries attended the workshop in Dhaka. The second workshop on the same topic was held in Chittagong on March 10, where 45 participants took part.

Another course intake of the IFC FIT Program will be taking place to start off in November 2011. Dont miss out on this great training and professional development opportunity!

Contact details for enrolments of the IFC FIT Program in Bangladesh:

Ataur Rahman
Secretary
ICC Bangladesh
Tel: 880-2-862-1942 or 880-2-967-6698
Fax: 880-2-862-1027
E-mail: < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it > or < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it > .