GTR Trade Finance eNews - April 2010
Gallagher expands political risk team
After spending a decade developing FirstCity's political risk practice, Mark Gubbins is heading up a new political risk team that will join insurance broker Arthur J Gallagher.
BNY Mellon reveals new regional head of treasury services
BNY Mellon has announced that Robert Whittemore will be its new head of treasury services for Japan.
SEB sees Q1 profits soar
Sweden’s SEB has posted a massive 91% increase in operating profits in Q1 compared to the final quarter of 2009.
StanChart moves into UK ship financing
In its first ship finance deal with a UK ship owner, Standard Chartered has signed a £36mn (US$54.8mn) loan with Bibby Offshore.
ATB hires new head of corporate finance
Hans Tamm has joined the Netherlands' Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB) as head of corporate finance.
Santander sees Q1 profit rise
Spain’s Grupo Santander Q1 2010 financial report reveals that the bank increased ordinary attributable profit to €2.2bn (US$2.9bn), up 5.7% from the first quarter of last year.
Denton Wilde Sapte promotes new managing associate
International law firm Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS) has promoted trade finance lawyer Kate Richardson to managing associate.
Yapi Kredi boosts Turkish pre-financing
Turkey’s Yapi Kredi has won a syndicated dual-tranche term loan facility worth US$1bn.
Santander expands energy team
Santander has appointed Alejandro Garcia Val as head of energy commodities.
Confidence in trade finance remains fragile, reveals new survey by the ICC
New survey results released by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have exposed the trade finance (TF) industry’s mixed views on prospects for a strong and lasting trade recovery.
Aktif Bank hires new VP
Alper Nalbant has joined Turkey's Aktif Bank as the vice-president of financial institutions.
DB posts big increases in Q1
Deutsche Bank (DB) has announced a Q1 net income of €1.8bn (US$2.4bn), up 33% from the same period of 2009.
Drum branches out in CIS
Supply chain specialist Drum Risk has opened a subsidiary in Kiev to develop contact with exporters and importers, overseas traders and banks.
LloydsTSB grants Lancashire LC
Bermuda-based insurers Lancashire Insurance Company has entered into a US$200mn bilateral two year letter of credit (LC) facility with Lloyds TSB.
SG launches new trade team
Societe Generale (SG) is creating a new specialist trade team in Geneva as part of the bank's Zurich branch,
ADB appoints new vice-president
Asia Development Bank (ADB) has hired Lakshmi Venkatachalam as vice-president of private sector and co-financing operations.
ICISA praises credit insurers' responses
The International Credit Insurance and Securities Association (ICISA) has revealed that credit insurers lived up to their obligations during the financial crisis.
BAFT-IFSA and LatAm's Felaban renew alliance
Banking information provider BAFT-IFSA and the Latin American Banking Federation (Felaban) have renewed their collaborative alliance.
Belinvestbank trade loan oversubscribes
Initial mandated lead arranger VTB Bank and a consortium of lenders have closed an oversubscribed US$59.5mn loan facility for the Belarusian Bank for Development and Reconstruction (Belinvestbank).
Insurers called to speed up response times
Clients are keen to see all insurers act in a “timely” manner when dealing with issues surrounding trade finance debt restructurings, says Marian Boyle, partner, insurance and reinsurance, at Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS).
GTR reveals best law firm in trade finance
The votes for GTR's Best Law Firm in Trade Finance 2010 have been counted and the results are in.
AGA wins oversubscribed revolver
Johannesburg-based gold miner AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) has won an oversubscribed US$1bn syndicated four-year unsecured revolving credit facility.
DB expands Asia STF and export finance team
Deutsche Bank (DB) has hired two members to its structured trade and export finance (STEF) team in Asia.
World Bank approves Eskom loan
The World Bank has approved a US$3.75bn project loan to Eskom, South Africa’s state power utility.
Returns strong for CDC
The UK development finance institution, CDC Group, have revealed returns of £207mn (US$318mn) and developing country investments of £359mn (US$551.8mn) during 2009.
Sace set for Turkish expansion
Sace is set to establish a representative office in Istanbul in what Sace's head of international relations and network calls its "biggest initiative for the coming year".
Flash branches out in Brazil
Supply chain solutions provider Flash Global Logistics has expanded its Brazil operations.
SunPower signs syndication
A syndication of six banks has signed a US$350mn credit facility to solar energy provider SunPower.
Basel III causes concern in trade finance
Consultation on new global capital requirements for banks has closed, provoking a backlash among some banks and industry bodies.
FBN Bank expands STF team
FBN Bank has hired Bajide Bode-Harrison as a business development manager.
US Ex-Im doubles loan authorisations
US Ex-Im has more than doubled its authorisations of export loans in the first half of the current fiscal year, compared to the same period of 2009.
China Ex-Im funds Tanzanian infrastructure
China Ex-Im and the Tanzanian government have signed two loan agreements totalling US$265mn to finance infrastructure projects in the African country.
Africa tipped to rival Asia within a decade
The acting CEO of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) has announced that the continent will rival Asia in infrastructure financing in 10 years.
Sace to expand Russian focus
Italy’s Sace has revealed that it intends to diversify in its 2010 strategy for corporates and financial institutions operating in Russia.
CRBD upgrades to Misys BankFusion
Tanzania’s CRBD bank is the latest in a string of institutions to implement the Misys BankFusion Universal Banking platform.
ONDD fills promotion spot
Belgium's export credit agency, ONDD, has appointed Frank Vanwingh as its new deputy chief executive officer.
ITFC cements trade finance deal
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has signed an US$19.8mn trade finance agreement with Fujairah Cement Industries (FCI).
JBIC opens credit lines to Chile
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has agreed to arrange dual-currency export credit lines with Banco Santander Chile.
Nord Stream construction gets underway
After four years of technical and finance deals, the US$12.3bn Nord Stream natural gas pipeline project has begun construction on schedule.
Reports show substantial drop in TF volume
Reports carried out by financial analyst Dealogic have shown a massive 55% drop in global trade finance volume.
EBRD supports Moldavan SMEs
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has offered a significant boost to Moldovan SMEs by providing Banca Sociala with a €5mn (US$6.7mn) loan.
SEB expands its GTS team
SEB has promoted Lars Millberg to the position of head of global transaction services (GTS) corporate and Erik Zingmark to the role of head of GTS international.
Nexi backs Indonesian telecoms
Japan’s Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Nexi) is providing a US$24mn buyer’s credit insurance to back Indonesia’s Telekomunikasi’s telecommunication project.
EGPC offers PXF mandate
Egypt’s state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has mandated JP Morgan and National Bank of Egypt to arrange a pre-export loan of up to US$2bn.
Brazil and US in trade negotiations
The Brazilian government has delayed imposing tariffs and lifting patent protections on US$829mn of American goods after the US offered concessions on an export loan guarantee programme.
Sace reveals successful 2009
Sace has announced an increase of insured transactions in 2009, up more than 20% from the previous year.
Cotecna extends customs inspection contract
Trade service solutions provider Cotecna’s Mexico subsidiary has agreed an extension to its customs inspection contract with Servicios de Administración Tributaria (SAT).
Jaguar Energy agrees power plant financing
Energy operator AEI’s wholly-owned subsidiary Jaguar Energy has closed a financing deal worth US$350mn for the construction of a power plant in Guatemala.
Law firm S&J opens China office
The international law firm, Steptoe & Johnson (S&J) has opened an office in Beijing.
Brazil's BNDES finances Panamax ships
Brazil's national development bank (BNDES), has signed financing contracts worth R$856mn (US$484.7mn) for four ships.
US Ex-Im and Google join forces
The Export-Import bank of the United States (US Ex-Im) is being joined by Google to help American small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increase or begin exporting.
Bryan Cave makes three new hires
Law firm Bryan Cave has made three new leadership appointments to its international trade practice.
DB acquires of parts of ABN Amro
Deutsche Bank (DB) has acquired parts of ABN Amro’s commercial banking activities in the Netherlands for €700mn (US$939.2mn), paid in cash.
Citi announces new GTS head in Canada
John Landry has been hired as Citi's head of global transaction services (GTS) in Canada.
ExxonMobil finalises PNG LNG financing
ExxonMobil has announced the finalisation of financing agreements for the Papua New Guinea liquid natural gas (PNG LNG) project, and has reconfirmed that natural-gas deliveries will begin in 2014.
Stemcor gains refinancing revolver
Six banks have teamed up as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners (MLABs) to launch into syndication credit facilities totalling US$500mn for steel trader Stemcor.
