5th Annual Innovations in Trade Finance Solutions 2009

Event Review

The event was well attended and a number of senior level industry players discussed a topical issues including the governments current view on Trade, credit and funding in a contracting economy, implications of Basel II on trade financing, trade finance fraud, the growing value of integrated treasury systems and risk solutions.

Description

This year Exporta’s 5th Innovations in Trade Finance Solutions looks at the impact of the financial crisis on existing operation processes and trading relationships. We shall be assessing the efficacy of recent product innovations designed to inject liquidity and remove risks along the manufacturers’ supply chain and the growing influence global sourcing has on domestic growth. We shall be investigating how the financial community and government agencies can help industry relieve the bottlenecks that are in danger of stifling a system. Will this shift in paradigms spell the end of globalisation and trade as we have known it?  

This premier trade finance event regularly attracts leading players in North American industry, looking to garner ideas to help them regain control over working capital and remove costs from lengthy and vulnerable supply chains. All would welcome a chance to get a better understanding of how they should react to global shocks being felt in their everyday transactions. This forum offers a unique opportunity to meet with peers and their advisors to trade experiences and share best practice about daily financing needs at a time when long-standing credit lines are being pulled without notice.

Topics being covered:

• Economic outlook for global trade
• Trade developments under the Obama administration
• Solutions for bypassing the liquidity squeeze
• Impact of Basel II on trade credit and pricing 
• Value of integrated treasury systems          
• The verdict on supply chain finance solutions: does it work in a crisis solutions panel: identifying weak points before they arise
• Case studies, best practice and interactive panel sessions

Forum participants will include:

• Manufacturers
• Distributors
• Importers/ exporters
• Trade financiers
• Treasurers
• Financial officers
• Logistics managers
• Export credit agencies
• Multilateral institutions
• Alternative asset managers
• Insurers
• Lawyers

Event Photos

Brochure

Programme

08.00 
Registration

08.50 
Opening address from chairperson
Maureen Sullivan, Managing Director, Executive Director, Global Trade Services, JP Morgan

09.00           
Economic outlook for global trade  
James Glassman, Senior Economist, JP Morgan
• Impact of global downturn on trade flows  
• Restrictions on credit and higher cost of financing: how will the manufacturers stay competitive?    
• Sacrificing quantity for quality: what will this rationing mean for the marketplace? 
• Renewed calls for more regulation after the bail out: is this effective in the long run?
• Threat of rising protectionism: what will become of Chimerica now?  

09.30
The current administrations general position on Trade
Christina R. Sevilla, Deputy Assistant, U.S. Trade Representative, Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liason

10.00 
Liquidity panel: Credit and funding in a contracting economy 
Moderator: Donna Alexander, President, Bankers' Association for Finance and Trade (Baft)
Bonnie Galat, Head of Marketing and Distribution, GTFP, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
James Klatsky, Senior MD and Partner, Rosemount Capital
Mike McDonough, Global Head of Trade Product Management, The Bank of New York Mellon
• Impact of the credit crunch on supply chain finance: how have corporates managed to weather the storm?
• Market disruption and cost of funding for lenders 
• Local vs foreign banks: which are better partners in a downturn?  
• How resilient is their risk appetite in times of tight liquidity?  
• The effect of government reforms on access to credit: has it worked?
• Effect of Basel II on ratings and capacity of credit arbitrage
• Outlook for the short to medium term  

10.50 
Networking Break

11.20 
Implications of Basel II on trade financing
Michel Araten, Managing Director, JP Morgan
• Trade finance sensitivity to critical credit risk parameters in Basel II capital calculations
• Supervisors' approach to approval of key risk parameters and advanced IRB qualification
• How consortium efforts to develop additional empirical data may help

11.50
Aerospace corporate panel
Moderater: Geoff Brady, Managing Director, Global Trade Sales, JP Morgan
Kevin Ryan, International Cash and Foreign Exchange Manager, Textron
Steven M. Daily, Senior Manager Trade Finance, Raytheon
Mette Haavik, Director of Trade Finance, Lockheed Martin
Representative, Honeywell

• Designing effective capital structures with access to credit
• Pricing risk and credit: plugging the liquidity gaps in working capital
• Financing in local currency
• What common challenges arise when implementing these schemes
• Value-added supplier relationships
• Choosing the best solution provider

12.30 
Networking Lunch

13.30
Trade finance fraud
Joan Meyer, Partner, Baker & McKenzie
• US criminal laws applicable to trade activity
• Enforcement risks relating to valuation, classification, and customers of exports
• Current enforcement environment, including recent cases and US priorities
• Best practices in trade compliance

14.00         
The growing value of integrated treasury systems 
Ben Phillips, Senior Vice-President & Sales Director, The Bank of New York Mellon
Treasury Services                    
• The strategic role of treasurer: extending beyond cash management
• The value to the corporation and their relationship banks of taking a holistic view of treasury services
• Where are banks today in this effort? Where do they need to be and how do they get there?
• How do banks and corporates measure success in this endeavor?

14.30 Case Study:  A new way of structuring export and services financing
Astar Saleh, Head of Structured Trade Finance, JP Morgan
• Pitfalls of traditional fund raising
• Leveraging the relationship between buyers and sellers to structure superior and risk-mitigated financing solutions
• Advantages of embedded financing structures
 
15.15 
Networking Break

15.45
Developments in the multilateral trade framework under the new US administration
Jeffrey Alan Abramson, Vice-President of Trade Finance and Insurance, US Ex-Im Bank
• State-led initiatives to provide SME support to ease  trade flows
• What challenges do agencies face when setting credit limits for local companies looking to expand?
• What initiatives are being planned to support future exports to these regions?   
• How will DFIs and IFI intervention affect the market’s appetite for risk? 

16.30
Risk solutions panel
Moderater: Astar Saleh, Head of Structured Trade Finance, JP Morgan
Jeffrey Alan Abramson, Vice-President of Trade Finance and Insurance, US Ex-Im Bank
Corina Muller Monaghan, Vice-President, Trade Credit & Political Risk, Aon
Anne Marie Thurber, Senior Vice-President & Regional Manager - Americas, Credit and Political Risk, Zurich
Agnes Alderson, Vice-President, Ace Political Risk & Credit
• How effective are current offerings in mitigating risk: shipment/currency/operational/transactional risk?
• What is the present risk appetite like and how is it being shared between banks and other providers?
• What risks should corporates be left with?
• How are market innovations such as risk swap options and CDS faring in the new environment?
• How will the market pan out in 2009 and beyond?
• Identify the so-called political risks associated with supply chain and how corporates/lenders are addressing those risks
 
17.00          
Chair’s concluding remarks and end of conference

Venue

Accommodation

Upon registration details on how to book your accommodation will be given.

Sponsors

Sponsorship opportunities including exhibition stands are available for this event.

To become a sponsor, please contact Tom Whitehead, Head of Sponsorship Sales at twhitehead@exportagroup.com.

Exporta's events have a global reputation, renowned for superb networking opportunities and educational presentations by high-profile speakers.

Time after time our events attract the leading companies in our market as sponsors.

See below for a full list of our Event Sponsors, Institutional Partners and Media Partners and click on the logo to visit their web site. 

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