7th Annual Innovations in Trade Finance Solutions Conference

Event Review

Exporta’s 7th Annual Innovations in Trade Finance Solutions Conference in New York attracted high level delegates from financial institutions, top-tier corporates and global solution providers to discuss key industry topics and share their experiences of trading in today’s market.

As the global trading landscape is changing, evident by new south-south trade flows and emerging market growth, the U.S. is facing a period of realignment to reflect new demand patterns and how best to tackle the challenges in exposing greater yields from the supply chain.

Widely regarded as the premier event of its kind for the region, the programme included a range of industry experts who presented and engaged in critical discussion on key market topics, such as establishing corporate priorities and future objectives, innovations in supply chain finance, streamlining documentation, accelerating DSO, securing deal growth through export financing, flexible supplier financing and mitigation tools to protect the supply chain.

Complementing a large U.S. presence at the conference, delegates also attended from across the globe, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, France, Canada, Ghana, Malta, Bolivia, Russia and Hong Kong to name but a few. This healthy mix of domestic and international delegates created constructive and valuable networking opportunities with leading companies such as ABB, U.S. Steel, Space Systems/Loral, Siemens Financial Services, Tyco International, Hess Corporation, Raytheon, Glencore, Bunge, Hawker Beechcraft, Auriga Polymers, QLogic, Hanesbrands, Huawei Technologies, Bamberger Polymers as well as numerous other domestic and multinational corporates.

The delegates were able to carry on their discussions in a more informal setting during the evening networking reception and Exporta look forward to many more successful global events throughout 2011 and beyond.
 

Description

Following Exporta’s successful 2010 event, the U.S. market has faced a challenging period of economic realignment to reflect new and exciting global opportunities. Utilising business lines and sourcing viable liquidity have rarely had such prominence to those involved in the world of trade finance. Focus has, therefore, centred strongly on innovative and cutting-edge solutions in order to expose greater yields from the supply chain.

Coming together to give their unique perspectives and engage in vigorous discussion to add clarity to market issues will be leading heads of domestic and international banks, key corporate decision makers, solution innovators and other leading industry experts.

The format of the conference enables delegates to gain individual insights from single presentations, contribute to debates during panel discussions and network with the highest level of decision makers in attendance.

Among the topics to be discussed over the course of the day:
• Innovations in supply chain finance
• Establishing corporate priorities in solution requirements
• A letter of credit renaissance or a return to open account?
• How do corporate management processes along the supply chain affect working capital?
• Streamlining documentation & accelerating DSO
• New opportunities presented by supply chain innovation
• Securing deal growth through export finance
• The role of credit insurance in facilitating trade
• Mitigation tools, risk appetite and protection

Who should attend?
• Trade, export and commodity finance heads and directors
• Corporate finance directors, CFOs and treasurers
• Insurance underwriters and brokers
• Export credit agencies
• Multilaterals
• Solution providers
• Lawyers and consultants
• Market analysts and policy advisors

As with all Exporta events, strong emphasis is placed on networking. As such, there will be a special evening reception following the event where all delegates can continue the day's discussions and engage in further dialogue in a more informal setting.
 

Event Photos

Brochure

Programme

08.00 Registration and refreshments

08.50 Chairman’s opening remarks
David Conroy, Global Trade Sales Head, J.P. Morgan

09.00 Panel discussion: Establishing corporate priorities and future objectives
Moderator: David Conroy, Global Trade Sales Head, J.P. Morgan
Robert DeVincenzo, Vice-President, Treasury & Finance, ABB
Patrick Doehner, Director, Space Systems/Loral (SS/L)
William Schumeyer, Director of Credit, U.S. Steel
• Analyzing the appetite for banks providing trade finance in the North American market
• What more can banks do to facilitate corporate growth?
• How are converged cash and trade finance solutions helping to improve working capital?
• The benefits to SMEs of cheaper liquidity from multilaterals and ECAs
• Corporate perspectives on the future of maximizing working capital and securing viable sources of finance   

09.50 Panel discussion: Innovations in supply chain finance
Moderator: John Hogan, Vice-President, Trade Finance Product Management, BNY Mellon
William Evans, Executive Director, Head of Transaction Banking, ANZ Americas
Bruce Proctor, Trade & Supply Chain Product Executive, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Béatrice Dubroca, Global Head of GTS Product Management & Delivery, BNP Paribas
Jacob Katsman, Chief Executive Officer, Global Trade Corporation
Geoffrey Brady, Global Trade Sales North America, J.P. Morgan
Eric Riddle, Vice-President of Sales, North America, PrimeRevenue
Chris Conn, Regional Solutions Manager, Supply Chain Services, Swift
• Are the changes in cash management processes - brought about by the financial crisis - here to stay?
• Integrated solutions: Exploiting the natural links between trade and cash
• Increasing corporate adoption of multi-bank trade finance
• How far has the market swung back to the ‘long-term’ use of open account trading?
• How easy is it to alter the mindset of traditional LC users?

11.00 Networking break

11.40 Streamlining documentation, accelerating DSO and increasing financial supply chain control
Eric Delfau, Operations Manager, Global Pulp Group, Central National-Gottesman
Kirk Lundburg, President & Chief Executive Officer, Trade Technologies
• Web-based software to automate creation of LC documents from Swift formatted advices
• Original third party document management
• Instant delivery of UCP 600 compliant LC documents online to global trade banks
• Real time access to status, data, documents and reports
• Visibility into and control of DSO and credit risk

12.10 How do corporate management processes along the supply chain affect working capital?
Moderator: Danielle Austin, Director, Training & Advisory Services, Export Trade Associates
Scott Thomas, Global Credit Risk Manager, Auriga Polymers
Russell D'Souza, Director, Global Credit Risk Management, Hanesbrands
Darie Achstein-Conway, Manager, Global Trade & Compliance, QLogic
• What are the greatest challenges in increasing operational efficiency?
• An insight into the day-to-day workings of the supply chain
• How different is it trading with clients and suppliers using open account compared to LC processing?
• Where are the greatest ‘bottlenecks’ for working capital along the supply chain?
• What more can banks and solution providers do for their corporate clients?

13.00 Lunch

14.15 Trade Finance in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Vincent O'Brien, Chair, ICC Market Intelligence Group (MIG) & Technical Advisor to China Systems & Consultant to European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
• A practitioners view on trends in trade finance and trading patterns
• Considering the expanding role of the EBRD
• The growing middle class and SME market

14.35 Securing deal growth through export finance
Moderator: Astar Saleh, Head of Structured Trade Finance, J.P. Morgan
Agnes Alderson, Vice-President, Political Risk & Credit, Ace Group
Ravi Arulanantham, Senior Advisor to the Chairman, Export-Import Bank of the United States
Priyamvada Singh, Global Financial Markets, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Christopher Schandera, Manager of Project & Export Finance, Siemens Financial Services
• Analyzing the growing number of U.S. export contracts with large growth areas
• The role of ECAs in giving SMEs global access
• Matching financing terms and aggressive pricing structures of foreign financial institutions
• Can the rising levels of pre-export finance usage be solely attributed to risk mitigation?
• Profiling the rise in protectionism and currency wars   

15.25 Supplier case study: Flexible financing for greater deal value
Gregory Bernardi, President, London Forfaiting Americas
• Utilizing flexibility through Supplier Credit Financing
• How can early stage planning develop future strategic decisions?
• What options are available when ECA funding is not applicable?
• Solution and outcome: Two very distinct approaches
• Maximizing funding options on a case-by-case basis

15.50 Networking break

16.15 Appropriate allocation of funding sources: Getting to the golden mean
Sergey Smykov, Deputy Director, Structured Trade and Export Finance, Huawei Technologies
• Financing methods utilized for various levels of corporates in the contemporary telecommunications market
• Approaches for the most rational distribution of funding resources through a more detailed understanding of this market function - including risk mitigation issues
• Perspective of a supplier in choosing and recommending a financing facility and assisting party for its customers considering implementation of its sales goals
• Case study: Securing financing for both emerging and developed market startups

16.40 Panel discussion: Mitigation tools, risk appetite and supply chain protection
Moderator: Margrith Lütschg-Emmenegger, President, Fimbank
Michel Léonard, Senior Vice-President & Chief Economist, Alliant Insurance | A Blackstone Group Company
Amy Clarke, Senior Consultant, Control Risks
Michael Kornblau, National Trade Credit Practice Leader, Marsh USA
Tim Press, Director, Special Risks, Miller Insurance
Todd Lynady, Senior Underwriter, Zurich Surety, Credit & Political Risk
• How to defend against loss and protect the supply chain
• How has the landscape changed for the trade credit insurance market?
• Analyzing new products that will help companies pursue growth opportunities in emerging markets
• For how much longer should ECAs be expected to provide insurance where the private market cannot?
• How much risk are corporates willing to take? How much risk should corporates be left with?

17.30 Closing remarks followed by evening drinks reception

Venue

Accommodation

Delegates are responsible for the arrangement and payment of their own travel and accommodation. 

Upon registering to attend this event, Exporta will inform you of how to book accommodation at the venue.

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. 

Delegate Packs