While COVID-19 continues to harm people in every corner of the world, international practices, such as trade, have the potential to produce a multitude of benefits and support economic recovery from the crisis. But trade depends on the availability of trade finance; today, more than ever before, cooperation between public and private sectors is required to both navigate out of the calamity and rejuvenate top pre-COVID-19 goals such as sustainability.
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.