Trade finance fuels trade; if firms are unable to access it, this can have significant consequences for business development and global commerce. The current US$1.5 trillion gap between the demand for and supply of trade finance is undeniably a substantial barrier to economic growth. A recent BNY Mellon survey canvassed industry participants to discover what steps they think should be taken to close the gap, and the results point to two potential sources of relief: technology and regulatory revision.
Asian Development Bank
Money laundering and terrorism financing are serious issues that banks must address, especially as too many financial institutions are complicit in enabling the flow of unlawful funds. Unfortunately, the need to act decisively has also resulted in a disabling tightening of trade finance, sorely needed for economic growth. The new Asian Development Bank Scorecard seeks to ameliorate the inadvertent consequences of AML and CFT compliance.
When considering the world’s fastest-growing economies, the usual suspects of China and India invariably crop up in most discussions. Of course, this is to be expected given that, despite its recent slowdown, China’s GDP (gross domestic product) still grew by 6.7 percent in 2016
Global trade growth depends on trade finance, which is not meeting demand. Regulatory compliance, protectionism, costs and complexities of technology have restricted banks’ willingness to provide trade finance. Measures such as collaboration, innovation, improved attitudes are a must if this fuel for the global trade engine is to be adequately supplied.
Human beings tend to believe that after hitting a bump in the road, their route will eventually go back to “normal”. But when it comes to global economic and trade growth, this assumption may lead to a complacency that ultimately allows conditions to deteriorate to levels that everyone dreads.