The GTR Leaders in Trade awards recognise excellence across trade, commodities, supply chain and export finance, as well as digital innovation.
Winners were selected by GTR’s editorial team and an independent advisory panel, based on detailed submissions from shortlisted organisations and, where relevant, supporting evidence from GTR’s Best Deals signed in 2025.
Here, we reveal the institutions and companies that stood out from the competition – and the achievements that earned them top honours.
Regional awards
Best trade finance bank in East Africa
Shortlisted nominees: Equity Bank (Kenya), Mauritius Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Kenya
Winner: Standard Chartered Kenya
Best trade finance bank in West Africa
Shortlisted nominees: Ecobank, First Bank of Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC, Zenith Bank UK
Winner: Zenith Bank UK
Best trade finance bank in Southern Africa
Shortlisted nominees: Nedbank, Rand Merchant Bank, Standard Bank
Winner: Rand Merchant Bank
Best trade finance bank in the Middle East
Shortlisted nominees: Arab Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Rakbank, Standard Chartered
Winner: First Abu Dhabi Bank
Best trade finance bank in North Africa
Shortlisted nominees: BACB, National Bank of Egypt
Winner: BACB
Best trade finance bank in North America
Shortlisted nominees: BNY, MUFG, Scotiabank, TD Securities
Winner: BNY
Best trade finance bank in Asia
Shortlisted nominees: Bank of America, DBS, HSBC, Mizuho, SMBC
Winner: DBS
Best trade finance bank in Western Europe
Shortlisted nominees: BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB
Winner: Crédit Agricole CIB
Best trade finance bank in the UK
Shortlisted nominees: Barclays, Lloyds Bank, NatWest
Winner: Barclays
Global awards: Other industry players
Best trade or supply chain finance law firm
Shortlisted nominees: A&O Shearman, Norton Rose Fulbright, Sullivan & Worcester
Winner: Sullivan & Worcester
Shortlisted nominees: Norton Rose Fulbright, Sullivan & Worcester
Winner: Norton Rose Fulbright
Best trade & supply chain platform
Platforms used directly by corporates to access working capital, receivables finance or supplier finance programmes, typically connecting corporates with banks and investors
Shortlisted nominees: CredAble, Finverity, Orbian, PrimeRevenue, SAP Taulia
Winner: CredAble
Best trade technology provider
Technology providers used by banks or insurers to process and manage trade finance transactions and trade operations
Shortlisted nominees: CGI, China Systems, LiquidX, Premium Technology, Surecomp
Winner: CGI
Winner: Surecomp
Best trade finance & automation fintech
Fintech solutions helping banks or corporates automate trade finance workflows, document checking, analytics and transaction monitoring
Shortlisted nominees: Cleareye, Conpend, Digital Vault Services, Mitigram, Monetago, Traydstream
Winner: Cleareye
Best fintech enabling digital trade
Companies enabling digital trade documentation and connectivity across the trade ecosystem (for example, electronic bills of lading and digital transferable records)
Shortlisted nominees: CargoX, WaveBL
Winner: CargoX
Best early-stage trade fintech innovator
Early-stage companies developing new digital trade or trade finance infrastructure with emerging market adoption
Shortlisted nominees: ETR Digital, IBDIC (Indian Banks’ Digital Infrastructure Company), Paper Trader, Qualco
Winner: IBDIC
Best non-bank trade finance provider (including trade finance funds)
Shortlisted nominees: Alteia, Ebury, India Factoring and Finance Solutions, Pelorus Capital
Winner: India Factoring and Finance Solutions
Best trade credit insurance broker
Shortlisted nominees: Aon, BPL, Willis
Winner: Aon
Best political risk insurance broker
Shortlisted nominees: Aon, Willis
Winner: Willis
Best trade credit and political risk insurance underwriter
Winner: Allianz Trade
Global awards: Banks
Shortlisted nominees: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation
Winner: EBRD
Shortlisted nominees: Barclays, BNP Paribas, DBS, Nedbank
Winner: BNP Paribas
Shortlisted nominees: BNP Paribas, Citi, DBS, Lloyds
Winner: Lloyds
Best supply chain finance bank
Shortlisted nominees: Bank of America, Citi, Crédit Agricole CIB, MUFG, Santander
Winner: Santander
Best commodity trade finance bank
Shortlisted nominees: MUFG, SMBC, Société Générale
Winner: Société Générale
Shortlisted nominees: Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Santander, Standard Chartered
Winner: Standard Chartered
Shortlisted nominees: Bank of America, Citi, Crédit Agricole CIB, Santander
Winner: Citi
Best trade finance bank in East Africa: Standard Chartered Kenya
Standard Chartered Kenya stood out for the scale, reach and impact of its trade finance operations across East Africa.
The bank, which has a balance sheet of more than US$2.9bn, offers 14 supply chain finance programmes that support more than 60 SMEs and provide access to more than US$250mn in financing.
Among these, the lender highlighted a US$20mn supplier finance programme for a leading fast-moving consumer goods company in East Africa, aimed at supporting women-led businesses, SMEs and sustainability-linked suppliers while improving the buyer’s balance sheet efficiency.
The bank also noted a partnership with British International Investment on a US$100mn facility intended to widen access to trade finance and working capital in Kenya and Tanzania. The programme targets businesses owned or led by women.
The lender’s wider regional activity included more than US$2bn of letter of credit confirmations supporting government-to-government oil imports, US$1bn for infrastructure projects through its China corridor, and over US$100mn of trade loans to financial institutions.
Standard Chartered Kenya also said it had arranged a US$20mn sustainable trade and working capital facility for a food manufacturer, supporting local production, logistics and a critical value chain.
“Our sustainable trade finance framework accelerates our clients’ adoption of sustainable trade finance as a business enabler and plays an important role in helping our clients in key transitioning industries to build more sustainable business models,” it said.
Additionally, the lender supported one of East Africa’s largest telecommunications companies via a network guarantee programme, issuing a standby letter of credit facility worth US$50mn. This backed its subsidiary business operations by guaranteeing banking facilities in a country where the bank does not have a presence, it said.
Digital delivery was another strength of the bank’s submission. More than 90% of documentary trade, 85% of open account trade and all supplier finance transactions are now initiated through its Straight2Bank online platform.
Upgrades made to this platform last year have given suppliers greater transparency and flexibility, as well as allowing for better control of rates.
Best trade finance bank in West Africa: Zenith Bank UK
Zenith Bank UK was named best trade finance bank in West Africa after showcasing how its London platform acts as “a risk intermediary and liquidity bridge between West African obligors and global counterparties”.
This was particularly vital last year, as global risk appetites for the region continued to tighten.
Serving as Zenith Bank Group’s global trade and correspondent banking hub, the bank provides confirmation capacity and settlement infrastructure for transactions originating in Nigeria, Ghana and elsewhere in West Africa.
In 2025, Zenith Bank UK said it handled US$2.3bn of export letters of credit, US$2.7bn of documentary checking, US$130.5mn of outward collections and US$25.7mn of guarantees.
“Our commitment has always been to deliver more than volume.”
Zenith Bank UK
Zenith Bank UK confirmed and settled large-value letters of credit for crude and refined product imports for major Nigerian downstream petroleum and trading companies.
It also worked with Zenith Bank, its Lagos-headquartered parent company, to create a multi-drawdown letter of credit framework with confirmation and foreign exchange risk mitigation for a Nigerian telecoms firm looking to import network infrastructure.
In Ghana, the lender structured and confirmed high-value letters of credit amid tight fuel shipment cycles and volatile commodity pricing, enabling continuous fuel imports it said were vital to the national energy supply.
Zenith Bank UK added that it strengthened its core banking and trade processing infrastructure to improve turnaround times for documentary credits, confirmations, guarantees, and collections.
These changes “materially improved the speed and reliability” of these processes.
“Our commitment has always been to deliver more than volume: to provide certainty, sound judgment, and dependable execution that clients and counterparties can trust,” a spokesperson for the bank said.
“We are proud to have supported critical trade flows from energy and infrastructure to manufacturing and essential goods in a year marked by FX volatility, liquidity pressures and complex supply chains.”
Best trade finance bank in Southern Africa: Rand Merchant Bank
Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) wins this year’s award for best trade finance bank in Southern Africa, continuing several years of success in the category.
Last year, it solidified its role as a major provider of trade finance in the region, achieving double-digit growth in trade and working capital balances in broader Africa, despite subdued market conditions across several key markets.
Growth came as the bank shifted its focus towards capital-efficient, fee-based structures and “disciplined limit allocation”.
The bank concentrated its activity during the year in sectors such as energy, mining and telecommunications.
RMB financed refined fuel imports into markets such as South Africa, Ghana and Mozambique. This included issuing more than US$500mn in import letters of credit for South African fuel imports during 2025. The bank also continued to provide trade finance and working capital facilities supporting fertiliser exports from Nigeria and imports into Southern Africa.
Innovations included what the lender described as the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first pre-export finance facility to be approved by the country’s central bank, secured for a mining company. RMB received a government mandate to raise up to €1bn for the facility.
RMB also acted as joint global coordinator, initial mandated lead arranger and bookrunner on Côte d’Ivoire’s inaugural €1.3bn syndicated short-term loan facility.
Alongside sovereign and commodity finance, RMB completed transactions involving supply chain finance and multi-country guarantee programmes for fintech clients. For the latter, the bank supported an AI-driven firm in securing airtime from multiple mobile network operators.
The bank also continued to participate in industry discussions on digital trade, AI and blockchain through events organised by sector bodies.
A spokesperson for the bank said: “At RMB, our ambition has always been clear: to shape the future of trade finance in Africa by pairing deep on the ground expertise with bold, practical innovation.
“Over the past year, our teams have delivered structures that not only solve immediate client challenges but also strengthen the broader ecosystems in which our clients operate.”
Best trade finance bank in North Africa: BACB
For the seventh consecutive year, the UK-based and Libyan-majority-owned British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB) was named best trade finance bank in North Africa.
The lender demonstrated how deep local knowledge, sustained risk appetite and specialist expertise can keep trade moving through challenging markets.
One of the few international banks able to handle transactions across all six North African countries, BACB has representative offices in Tripoli and Algiers, multilingual teams in London and shareholders in Libya, Algeria and Morocco.
In 2025, the bank said it handled more than US$1.5bn of regional trade transactions, including over US$875mn in Libya, US$425mn in Algeria and US$260mn in Egypt.
Much of this activity supported imports of grain, flour, wheat, sugar, medicines and fuel. The bank also distributed US$1.5bn of direct African assets from 14 countries, working with partner banks and insurers to broaden liquidity and risk appetite.
BACB’s standout transactions included continued support for the Zallaf Libya South Refinery Project, a multi-year development in Ubari that is expected to create jobs, improve infrastructure and strengthen energy security in southern Libya.
Working with majority shareholder Libyan Foreign Bank, BACB also helped facilitate funding for long-lead refinery equipment through trade finance instruments, including letters of credit.
In Algeria, the bank supported the financing of a US$37mn aluminium can manufacturing plant in Dar El-Beida. The facility will establish domestic production, replace imports and support local employment.
BACB also maintained vital trade flows into Sudan despite the ongoing conflict. It works with United Nations agencies, the World Bank, the Norwegian Refugee Council and other organisations, and has facilitated the financing of humanitarian aid.
The bank complemented its transaction activity with greater use of its digital trade finance portal and practical training for regional partners.
Damian Austin, BACB’s CEO, said: “This sort of consistent recognition for our trade finance offering in North Africa is a huge achievement for us, and it is a testament to our ongoing commitment to our clients and partners across the region.”
Best trade finance bank in the Middle East: First Abu Dhabi Bank
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) impressed this year with its supply chain finance programmes, digital delivery and an expanding suite of conventional and Islamic working capital solutions.
The lender, whose total assets stood at Dh1.4tn (US$381bn) at the end of 2025, reported a more than 200% increase in the value of its supply chain and receivables finance deals booked.
It also highlighted a more than Dh5bn supply chain finance programme carried out with the UAE government, which aims to accelerate cash flows for SMEs.
The bank’s reach is matched by its operational efficiency: according to its submission, more than 98% of trade volumes are processed digitally and all supply chain finance programmes benefit from straight-through processing.
FAB said it was the first regional bank to offer a fully automated supply chain finance solution covering both conventional and Islamic structures, and the first to introduce a sustainability-linked supply chain finance solution.
Client service improvements included a fast-track process for fully cash-backed standard letters of credit and guarantees, cutting turnaround time from four days to four hours.
It also highlighted its one-stop guarantees and export letter of credit solution, which centralises electronic advising, amendments, claims and document handling.
FAB said its innovations included the launch of its tokenised deep-tier supply chain finance solution and a digital self-onboarding platform designed to speed up the process for suppliers. The bank also embarked on new partnerships with fintechs including Komgo and LiquidX.
The Abu Dhabi-headquartered bank highlighted its lead role in Haifin, the UAE’s blockchain and machine learning-enabled trade platform, which aims to strengthen fraud prevention by helping participating banks identify duplicate invoices and flag financing risks.
Combined with offerings in inventory finance and supplier-led receivables, FAB’s submission demonstrated its overall breadth of product and regional reach.
Best trade finance bank in North America: BNY
BNY receives this year’s award in recognition of its continued investment in technology and operational resilience.
Throughout 2025, the bank focused on helping clients expand their international reach while mitigating risk and optimising cash flow through tailored trade finance solutions backed by its global network, advanced technology and experienced trade teams.
With eight global trade centres, BNY said its footprint is “one of the most extensive networks of any major financial institution”, providing clients with the reach and expertise needed to support trade processing, risk mitigation and financing requirements.
Trade outsourcing was a key focus during the year. BNY provides full trade outsourcing services for US regional and international banks, enabling clients to avoid the costs associated with third-party providers, address constrained trade resources and retain access to specialist expertise.
Alongside this, it delivered upgrades to its Trade Network Access Service, helping banks overcome compliance challenges by leveraging its RMA network, reducing know-your-customer costs and automating billing to create more efficient trade processing.
AI also featured prominently in the bank’s trade strategy. During 2025, BNY implemented AI in the processing of trade loans, using large language models to extract and structure information from Swift messages before human verification. The capability now supports around 14,000 loans with a combined value exceeding US$1.8bn, helping deliver faster processing, improved data quality, stronger end-to-end risk management and greater operational resilience.
In its submission, the bank also showcased its Investor Agency model, developed to connect institutional investors with buyers seeking supply chain finance by leveraging BNY’s technology and payment infrastructure.
Looking ahead, BNY said trade digitisation is “not a side initiative for us – it is a core strategic priority”.
The bank plans to continue enhancing its capabilities through technologies, including generative AI and tokenisation, while remaining focused on reducing friction in document-heavy processes, improving transparency and meeting clients’ evolving needs.
Best trade finance bank in Asia: DBS
DBS won the award for best trade finance bank in Asia after demonstrating strong growth in its trade business and digital innovation in a volatile operating environment.
According to the bank’s submission, documentary trade assets rose 10% year on year, trade fee income increased by 3% and its long-tenor loan book expanded by 12%. The bank also issued more than S$4bn in structured trade financing in 2025.
Sriram Muthukrishnan, DBS’ group head of product management, global transaction services, said that in 2025, the bank focused on “ensuring that trade finance remained a stabilising force for clients” amid “geopolitical fragmentation, shifting trade policies, and ongoing supply chain realignments”.
DBS’ key client solutions included supporting Singapore-based Aster Chemical and Energy’s transition from former owner Shell with a multi-product trade facilities framework, maintaining “uninterrupted trade finance operations and business continuity”.
For Indus Coffee’s new plant in Vietnam, DBS created a cross-border trade facility bundling onshore letters of credit, offshore standby letters of credit and digitised processes to streamline supplier payments, optimise financing costs and make procurement more transparent.
DBS also emphasised its orchestration hub, which it said extends risk distribution through participation agreements with more than 100 financial institutions.
The bank enabled more than S$2bn of deals within six months of closing a major accounts receivables purchase risk distribution programme. A partnership with Banque Saudi Fransi broadened trade finance and payment links between Asia and the Gulf.
Intensifying its digitisation efforts was a differentiator in 2025, DBS said, with the adoption of electronic bills of lading reducing document handling times by 60%.
It supported the “world’s first” interoperable digital documents-against-payment transaction between Singapore and Beijing, which demonstrated the potential for this method to reduce transaction costs by 30%.
Tailored solutions from DBS included designing a flexible facility with commodity hedging for energy and commodities trading company Nunchi Marine, helping it scale its volumes and mitigate price volatility.
Best trade finance bank in Western Europe: Crédit Agricole CIB
Crédit Agricole CIB was crowned best trade finance bank in Western Europe after delivering double-digit trade revenue growth in the region, large-scale bespoke financing and an ambitious digital transformation programme.
The lender launched a “next-generation web banking portal” across its global trade finance network, powered by Komgo, which it said features a domestic guarantees module with automatic standard guarantee issuance.
This is combined with an AI-powered vetting tool, which reviews guarantee wording against market practices to improve consistency and efficiency.
Crédit Agricole also initiated electronic bill of lading pilots with major commodity traders, supporting the shift towards paperless trade.
The lender demonstrated speed under pressure after a cyber-attack at a major automotive manufacturer. It deployed a £500mn emergency payables solution within two weeks, supporting critical suppliers and establishing a permanent supply chain finance programme.
Technology-sector mandates included multiple transactions exceeding US$1bn, a US$300mn forfaiting programme for hardware receivables and a US$200mn hybrid payables programme combining supply chain finance with bills of exchange.
Other solutions involved a more than US$1.5bn financial standby letter of credit for a construction firm and a €740mn guarantee for a grid operator.
The lender demonstrated speed under pressure after a cyber-attack at a major automotive manufacturer.
Sustainability remains important to the lender. Crédit Agricole worked with specialist providers to measure CO2 emissions across its bilateral transaction portfolio, which it said delivers “unprecedented transparency to clients”.
It also developed ESG-linked frameworks that enabled an engineering client’s first sustainability-linked supply chain finance programme.
Dominique Honoré, Crédit Agricole’s global head of trade and commodities, said the results “represent more than numbers – they establish a solid foundation for continued success”.
“Our unwavering focus on digital innovation, operational excellence, and sustainable growth positions Crédit Agricole CIB as the partner of choice for clients navigating the complexities of global trade,” she added.
Best trade finance bank in the UK: Barclays
Barclays picks up the award for best trade finance bank in the UK this year after demonstrating strong transaction volumes, continued investment in digital trade infrastructure and a leading role in industry initiatives aimed at modernising UK trade.
According to the bank’s submission, it supported more than 8,000 clients with their trade and working capital requirements during 2025, providing over £21bn of funding and contingent facilities each month.
It also maintained more than £36bn of available trade and working capital limits, while processing £39bn of invoice finance sales volumes, £15.8bn of trade loan drawdowns, £11bn of letters of credit and £5.8bn of bonds, guarantees and indemnities.
Alongside this scale, Barclays continued to invest in its trade finance capabilities. During 2025, the bank expanded its cloud-based Trade360 platform, progressed development of a new receivables funding platform through its partnership with Trade Ledger and United Fintech, and integrated Komgo into Trade360 via API connectivity.
Barclays said the integration forms part of an “API-led, digital-first strategy”, enabling clients to submit guarantee and standby letter of credit applications directly from the multi-bank platform.
The bank also pointed to its role in shaping the wider UK trade ecosystem. Its partnership with UK Export Finance (UKEF) supported 55 transactions during 2024-25 with a combined value of £186mn, while the UK Trade Digitalisation Taskforce, which Barclays co-chaired alongside ICC United Kingdom, delivered recommendations covering Basel 3.1, fraud prevention, know-your-customer processes and a roadmap for digitalising UK trade.
Client transactions highlighted included a €28.7mn UKEF-backed bonding facility for WH Davis to support a major freight wagon export contract with Irish Rail and a £27mn green loan for hydrogen developer GeoPura, backed by Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund, to support expansion in the UK and Denmark.
Summing up its approach, Barclays said it is committed to “empower UK businesses to innovate, seize opportunities, and achieve ambitious growth”.
Best trade or supply chain finance law firm: Sullivan & Worcester
Sullivan & Worcester won the award for best trade or supply chain finance law firm after combining landmark transactional work with a growing role in shaping the legal and documentary frameworks underpinning the industry.
With more than 50 trade finance banks, financial institutions, funds, corporates and export credit agencies among its clients, its work spans trade, commodity, receivables and supply chain finance.
Among its standout mandates were two “landmark” supply chain finance (SCF) transactions for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
One deal was an unfunded risk participation in a SCF programme for Turkish retailer Sok, which is enabling over 100 mostly SME suppliers based in cities struck by the 2023 earthquakes to access affordable working capital solutions.
In the other transaction, Sullivan worked with European law firm Kinstellar to advise the EBRD on a deal with Banca Transilvania that will expand an SCF programme for Romanian retail chain Profi Rom Food.
Sullivan also played a key role in trade digitalisation efforts, including the implementation of the UK’s Electronic Trade Documents Act.
In 2025, Sullivan helped Baft (the Bankers’ Association for Finance and Trade) develop its Master Trade Loan Agreement, described as “an industry-standard document for inter-bank trade” that takes into account the post-Libor environment and the effects of Brexit.
The firm’s trade and export finance practice also worked with the International Trade and Forfaiting Association to create a short-term Swift financial institution trade loan template.
Geoffrey Wynne, head of Sullivan’s trade and export finance group, said: “Over the past year, we have advised on some of the most sophisticated supply chain and receivables finance structures in the market.”
Last year, the law firm boosted its trade and export finance capability with several new hires, including partners Robert Parson and Matthew Cox, alongside the promotion of Daniela Barrdear to partner.
“As a team, we now offer one of the most comprehensive and forward-thinking trade finance practices anywhere in the market,” Wynne said.
Best export finance law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright
Norton Rose Fulbright took home the award for best export finance law firm for the third year in a row.
The firm demonstrated the breadth of its global export finance practice, combining work on complex export credit agency (ECA)-backed financings with innovative legal solutions and deep relationships across the export credit market.
Notable 2025 deals included acting for Deutsche Bank on a Finnvera-backed €23.6mn buyer credit facility with Ukraine-based metals and mining conglomerate Metinvest Group, for the purchase of equipment from Finnish sustainability solutions provider Metso.
“Negotiating with a borrower operating in an active war zone required careful calibration of risk, commercial priorities and stakeholder expectations, but all parties collaborated exceptionally well to reach a balanced and workable outcome,” the firm’s submission said.
Norton Rose also advised DNB Bank and a syndicate of lenders on green facilities totalling €675mn for offshore wind turbine installation company Cadeler, backed by China’s Sinosure and Norway’s Eksfin.
The law firm also acted for Italian ECA Sace and a syndicate of lenders led by HSBC on the financing of Shriram Finance, one of India’s largest non-banking finance companies, to boost opportunities for Italian exporters.
Working with Standard Chartered, Norton Rose advised on a “landmark” US$500.4mn sustainability-linked loan to Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Finance and Budget.
The deal involved “the first-ever combination” of a first-loss International Bank for Reconstruction and Development policy-based guarantee and a second-loss Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency guarantee.
Norton Rose’s ECA shipping team also played its part, last year advising on a US$1.7bn Sace-backed facility for Abercrombie & Kent to finance the acquisition of two luxury cruise vessels.
Alongside its transactional work, the firm continued to invest in its export finance capability through secondments and legal innovation. Its lawyers are often on secondment to ECAs and ECA teams at leading banks, including, in 2025, UK Export Finance and the ECA financing teams of JP Morgan and HSBC in London.
Best trade & supply chain platform: CredAble
This award highlights platforms used directly by corporates to access working capital, receivables finance or supplier finance programmes, typically connecting corporates with banks and investors.
CredAble picks up the award for best trade and supply chain finance platform this year for building a unified platform spanning payables, receivables and inventory finance, with judges praising the breadth of its offering – particularly its inventory finance capabilities – alongside its modern architecture, strong growth and early commercial success.
According to the company’s submission, the platform now facilitates more than US$21bn of supply chain finance flows through white-labelled deployments and co-marketing arrangements with banks and enterprises across North America, the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
CredAble also said it has enabled financing for more than 350,000 SMEs through its non-bank finance business in India, while supporting large-scale programmes including an inventory finance structure covering over 2 million stock keeping units across more than 100 warehouses, and a supply chain finance programme for India’s largest e-commerce company that reached US$1.25bn in annual throughput within a year.
The platform now facilitates more than US$21bn of supply chain finance flows through white-labelled deployments and co-marketing arrangements.
The submission highlighted a series of new and expanded partnerships with financial institutions. These include a global e-invoice validation platform developed with Citi, a white-labelled supply chain finance platform for the foreign operations of India’s largest public sector bank, deployments with banks in the UK, Norway and the Middle East, and an expanded integration with Finastra.
Innovation remains a central focus. According to the submission, CredAble has continued to enhance its platform with AI-enabled underwriting, real-time credit decisioning and behavioural analytics, alongside inventory finance capabilities delivered through its TradeCo network, which spans more than 10 geographies.
The company said its API-first architecture and configurable rules engine allow banks to deploy multi-bank, multi-entity and multi-currency programmes from a single platform, while reducing manual processes and improving scalability.
Best trade technology provider: CGI and Surecomp
This award highlights technology providers used by banks or insurers to process and manage trade finance transactions and trade operations.
CGI is one of this year’s winners in the best trade technology provider category after continuing to expand the scale and capabilities of its CGI Trade360 platform, while maintaining a strong focus on client-led innovation.
The judges highlighted the company’s progress in gaining market share as a hosted back-office platform, its strong connectivity with fintech partners and its ability to integrate new capabilities without requiring separate portals or charging models. They also praised CGI’s steady product enhancements, which have broadened the platform’s functionality.
According to CGI’s submission, the platform processed more than 15 million transactions during 2025, handled 1.4 million API calls and supported more than 160,000 corporate users worldwide. CGI also maintained a 100% delivery record on new implementations and reported a client satisfaction score of 9.56 out of 10, it said.
Among the year’s notable developments was a partnership with Barclays to integrate CGI Trade360 with Komgo’s Konsole platform, giving Barclays’ corporate clients a fully automated workflow while increasing transparency, reducing manual entry and lowering operational risk.
The past year also saw Bladex become the first Latin American-headquartered bank to implement CGI Trade360, while MUFG began rolling out the platform globally as its core back-end trade finance solution. CGI also secured new mandates from Mizuho, Huntington Bank and Banorte, alongside long-term contract renewals with SEB, RBC and New Zealand’s ASB Bank.
The company further expanded its Trade API Gateway and ecosystem of partners, enabling banks to connect with providers including Komgo, OpenText, TradeWindow, TradeLedger, LexisNexis and Conpend from within the Trade360 workflow.
New functionalities included ISO 20022-compliant payment messaging, enhanced guarantee and export credit agency workflows, operational dashboards and further progress in AI-enabled document processing.
Frank Tezzi, vice-president of CGI Financial Services, trade and payments, said: “Built for continuous evolution, CGI Trade360 enables banks to adapt to ongoing regulatory, compliance, and market change while benefiting from a constantly advancing platform.”
Surecomp
Surecomp is also recognised as a winner in this year’s best trade technology provider category after expanding its cloud-based trade finance-as-a-service (TFaaS) offering and broadening its network of bank and corporate users. Judges highlighted the company’s strong track record, growing momentum with banks and the acquisition of ELCY, which strengthens its corporate proposition. They also praised Surecomp’s pace of innovation.
During 2025, Surecomp combined its Doka-NG back-office platform and Rivo corporate engagement solution into an integrated SaaS offering, designed to make digital trade finance more accessible, affordable and faster to deploy. The company supports users in more than 80 countries, connecting over 250 trade banks with hundreds of corporate customers.
According to the firm, transaction volumes processed through Surecomp grew by around 10% during the year, while the value of transactions handled through Rivo surpassed US$3bn. Corporate adoption of Surecomp’s trade finance management solutions also grew by 100% in 2025.
The acquisition of ELCY expanded Surecomp’s market presence and integrated ELCY’s network into the Rivo platform, providing a new community of corporates and banks with access to more than 250 financial institutions.
The company also continued to expand its fintech ecosystem through integrations with providers including Finverity, CRX Markets and Minehub, extending capabilities in working capital, receivables and payables finance, liquidity management and digital supply chain collaboration through its open API architecture.
Surecomp reported notable client wins during the year, including Rand Merchant Bank and Crown Agents Bank, alongside new customers in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, reflecting continued expansion of its TFaaS offering in Africa.
In its submission, Surecomp highlighted continued investment in AI, increasing technology investment by 25% and expanding its R&D and AI engineering teams to more than 150 specialists. Recent developments include AI-powered text validation for guarantees and letters of credit, AI-driven document checking for compliance and discrepancy detection, and new ecosystem integrations designed to strengthen collaboration between banks, corporates and fintech partners.
Best trade finance & automation fintech: Cleareye
This award highlights solutions helping banks or corporates automate trade finance workflows, document checking, analytics and transaction monitoring.
Cleareye has won the award for best trade finance and automation fintech this year for helping banks automate workflows and document checks through explainable AI, enabling compliance decisions to be understood and audited. The judges described the company as a “category leader”, saying its approach to compliance checks “sets a new bar”.
According to the company’s submission, its flagship product, ClearTrade – an AI-powered platform that automates trade finance document examination, compliance and trade-based money laundering checks – reached a significant milestone in 2025, moving from early adoption to production-scale deployment across tier 1, 2 and 3 banks.
The platform is now used by institutions including JP Morgan, Bank of America, Lloyds Bank, Mizuho Bank, Axis Bank, Riyadh Bank, NatWest and Rakbank, with the latter two joining the client roster in 2025.
The company said banks using the platform have increased transaction volumes processed by 60-80% within three to six months of go-live, reduced turnaround times by around 40%, and achieved document classification accuracy of approximately 98% and data extraction accuracy of more than 91%.
The submission also highlighted the platform’s growing ecosystem of technology integrations, including Finastra, Temenos, CGI Trade360 and China Systems Eximbills.
It said a standout achievement during 2025 was a collaboration with Lloyds Bank, Finastra and Enigio that demonstrated fully automated extraction of structured electronic transport document data without optical character recognition or manual intervention, supporting emerging digital trade standards.
Innovation has focused on combining AI with explainability and governance. According to the submission, ClearTrade brings together supervised AI, machine learning and large language models with human oversight to automate document examination, identify documentary discrepancies and trade-based money-laundering indicators, and consolidate compliance findings into a single workflow.
The platform can also be configured to reflect individual banks’ regulatory requirements, risk appetites and deployment preferences, enabling institutions to automate trade operations while maintaining auditability and control.
Best fintech enabling digital trade: CargoX
This award highlights companies enabling digital trade documentation and connectivity across the trade ecosystem (for example, electronic bills of lading and digital transferable records).
CargoX wins the award in this category for its contribution to advancing digital trade documentation across the wider trade ecosystem. According to its submission, the company operates the world’s fastest-growing electronic bill of lading (eBL) and electronic trade documents platform, serving more than 150,000 companies in 190 countries.
During 2025, it added 41,083 new clients and facilitated the transfer of 2,965,449 trade and trade finance documents, while supporting more than 65 document types. The company said it works with banks, shipping lines, freight forwarders, exporters, importers, customs authorities and trade finance providers.
A particular strength of the submission was its focus on interoperability and practical deployment.
CargoX highlighted projects spanning Abu Dhabi Customs, the Shanghai International Trade Single Window and a pan-African bank operating across 12 jurisdictions, alongside partnerships with industry bodies and technology providers. According to the company, these initiatives help embed standards and interoperability across global trade.
Innovation also featured strongly throughout 2025. CargoX supported a UNCITRAL pilot of a fully electronic multimodal negotiable cargo document, participated in what it described as the world’s first live container-based eBL transaction using the Digital Container Shipping Association interoperability standards, introduced AI-based document classification and continued work with Swift on API-enabled electronic document transfers. It also demonstrated the use of structured trade data to improve customs and compliance processes through the Teesside Digital Trade Testbed.
The submission stood out for combining detailed operational metrics with practical examples of implementation. Alongside evidence of a growing client base and tailored deployments for banks, customs authorities and digital trade corridors, CargoX demonstrated the application of its technology through projects designed to support the wider adoption of digital trade documentation and interoperable trade processes.
Best early-stage trade fintech innovator: IBDIC
This award highlights early-stage companies developing new digital trade or trade finance infrastructure with emerging market adoption.
Founded by a consortium of 18 banks, Indian Banks’ Digital Infrastructure Company (IBDIC) showed how shared digital infrastructure can tackle structural challenges across India’s trade finance ecosystem.
IBDIC develops network-based solutions with financial institutions, regulators and government bodies.
Over the last three years, it has launched several platforms designed to reduce fraud and replace paper-heavy processes with digital workflows.
These include InvoiceHub, which is integrated with the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub’s Unified Lending Interface and uses invoice fingerprinting and verification technology to identify duplicate or fraudulent invoices.
Six institutions are live on the platform, which processes around 200,000 invoices a month and reached volumes equivalent to 30% of India’s Trade Receivables Discounting System market within six months of launching. IBDIC said it has detected more than 150 duplicate cases.
IBDIC’s blockchain-based Deep Tier Financing solution extends funding to smaller suppliers by tokenising invoices accepted by creditworthy anchor companies.
Another platform, OneTrade, provides unified blockchain infrastructure for secure document and data exchange for all stakeholders in the trade ecosystem.
“Through such customised engagements, IBDIC ensures industry solutions remain interoperable yet flexible enough to meet individual institutional needs,” its submission said.
“IBDIC’s innovation is not technology for its own sake; it is mission-driven – designed to create systemic trust, scale and resilience.”
Ashish Singhal, IBDIC’s chief executive, added that the consortium was created to “build digital trust infrastructure that unlocks transparency, speed, and resilience across India’s trade ecosystem”.
“We have demonstrated how deep technology, when built collaboratively and governed with neutrality, can solve challenges once considered structural,” Singhal said.
Best non-bank trade finance provider (including trade finance funds): India Factoring and Finance Solutions
India Factoring and Finance Solutions (IFFS) impressed judges with its market leadership and product innovation in India’s underpenetrated factoring sector.
Since launching export factoring operations in 2016, IFFS increased turnover from US$20mn to US$684mn in 2025, which it said was equivalent to a compound annual growth rate of around 48%. Total export and domestic factoring turnover reached US$944mn last year.
Export factoring now accounts for more than 70% of its business. According to the company’s submission, IFFS holds a market share of approximately 54% under the FCI Two-Factor system, ranking first in India, second in Asia and fourth globally by export factoring volume.
Key to IFFS’ success has been its introduction of India’s first trade credit insurance-backed, non-recourse export factoring solution. The product gives exporters access to unsecured working capital, predictable cash flow and protection against buyer risk.
IFFS drew attention to its support of SMEs, mid-market companies and large corporates across sectors such as engineering, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and electronics.
Its tailored solutions include post-shipment, warehouse-linked financing for exporters whose liquidity is tied up while goods are in transit or storage. When goods leave warehouses, the financing then converts into non-recourse factoring, which gives exporters liquidity “without reliance on collateral-heavy bank facilities”, it said.
IFFS has also implemented an end-to-end digital factoring system used by more than 120 banks worldwide, accelerating onboarding, processing and risk monitoring.
An IFFS spokesperson said: “Recognition from global and industry bodies is encouraging, but our primary measure of success remains the confidence exporters place in us to support their cross-border trade.
“As India works towards its ambition of becoming a US$2tn export economy, we see ourselves as a long-term partner to exporters and a committed contributor to the evolution of international trade finance.”
Best trade credit insurance broker: Aon
Last year saw several highlights for global broker Aon, including placing more than US$2.4bn in annual corporate premium and over US$1.2bn in annual financial institutions premium. It facilitated US$60mn in claims paid in volatile countries such as Ukraine and Ghana.
Aon said it was seeing more businesses turn to combined trade credit, surety and structured credit/political risk solutions for sustainable growth.
It emphasised several pieces of work from 2025, including an “innovative trade credit solution” for a Dutch supermarket co-operative representing around a quarter of the nation’s grocery market. After locating US$70mn tied up as cash collateral from the co-operative members, Aon said it devised a scheme that insured the businesses’ counterparties and allowed US$50mn cash to be released back to the membership via a syndication of nine insurers.
Another key innovation involved a Singapore-headquartered food, feed and fibre agribusiness focused on emerging markets, which needed to find new banking lines or risk having to sell or wind down the business.
“Aon utilised its trade credit and financing teams to come up with a new receivable financing facility backed by a capital requirements regulation-compliant trade credit policy,” the broker said.
Aon facilitated US$60mn in claims paid in volatile countries such as Ukraine and Ghana.
It structured a non-recourse, off-balance sheet US$200mn facility and provided the business with a credit management platform partly funded by reduced financing costs.
The broker also noted that its Credit Risk Analyzer product, a platform that models projected market premium rate and possible risk-sharing scenarios, was upgraded last year in partnership with Moody’s.
It also launched Supply Chain Analyzer, which Aon said analyses more than 80,000 data sources from over 200 countries.
It provides “predictive risk intelligence, scenario modelling and reputational risk analysis, empowering businesses to anticipate, withstand and recover from supply chain disruptions”, Aon said.
Best political risk insurance broker: Willis
Willis, a WTW business, took home the award for best political risk insurance broker, with a submission that highlighted its range of growing global clients across the US, UK, Mexico, Singapore and Spain, as well as its longstanding relationships.
The broker flagged the success of its Willis Credit Risk Solutions business, which it said insured US$24.2bn of new policies in 2025, a 44% increase year on year.
In 2025, Willis said it increased its live portfolio to more than US$46.4bn of enabled lending.
The broker also expanded last year, with the acquisition of three trade credit brokers across North America and the appointment of 25 new members of staff.
“We pride ourselves on working as an extension of our clients’ teams, providing general market intelligence on market movements, analysis of markets and new entrants,” Willis’ submission said.
Last year it saw claims activity for its non-payment product rocket by 250%. This activity included settling a disputed claim inherited from another broker that led to an award that was “almost double what had previously been offered”, Willis said.
Innovations included working with Turkish Airlines to broker the first use of Sompo Axis Aviation Finance Insurance, an aviation non-payment insurance product launched in 2025.
This enabled the airline to update its fleet. The product also allowed lenders to benefit from non-payment insurance, which eased the regulatory requirements for allocating capital against the loan to Turkish Airlines.
Willis also spent nine months working with Lloyds Bank’s transaction banking team and four insurers to develop what it described as a “landmark” trade portfolio credit insurance policy, which is helping the bank mitigate its credit risk across several asset classes and consolidates coverage for 40 individual obligors.
Evan Freely, global head of Willis Credit Risk Solutions, said: “As ever, the team have worked entrepreneurially to support client requirements and in doing so have achieved another record year and helped our clients win.”
Best trade credit and political risk insurance underwriter: Allianz Trade
For the fourth consecutive year, Allianz Trade was awarded best trade credit and political risk insurance underwriter.
The Paris-headquartered insurer highlighted several innovations from 2025, including the creation of a specific programme for a bank partner to insure its vehicle leasing business.
The bank wanted to protect against the insolvency risk of its portfolio of corporate lessees, and also sought capital relief.
“Our specialty credit and mid-term team were able to design a bespoke programme covering a portfolio of tens of thousands of obligors, under tenors of up to 60 months, with a large level of capacity, and in a capital relief compliant framework,” Allianz Trade’s submission said.
The programme is now expanding to other markets across Europe.
The insurer also unveiled Specialty Credit Social2Social, a solution to support projects that address a specific social issue and achieve positive social outcomes.
It flagged its existing Surety Green2Green guarantee product, which was used to support ONDE, one of Poland’s largest renewable energy contractors and developers, in the construction of solar farms.
As part of the Green2Green guarantees, the net annual premium received by Allianz Trade is held as investments in certified green bonds, “creating a circular model that continuously drives progress in sustainable development”.
“Our specialty credit and mid-term team were able to design a bespoke programme covering a portfolio of tens of thousands of obligors.”
Allianz Trade
Looking ahead, Allianz Trade said that following the uptick in AI-linked investments and start-ups in Europe and the US in 2025, it plans to develop tailored solutions for new businesses as well as financial institutions in this sector.
Anil Berry, group commercial director and Allianz Trade board member, said the insurer combines “a world-class credit intelligence network, an AA-rated financial strength, and a broad range of solutions, all anchored by a customer-first mindset”.
Best development bank: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) wins best development bank in trade this year after its Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) delivered €4.2bn in trade finance across more than 1,840 transactions in 26 countries during 2025, underlining what the bank described as its ability to “scale counter-cyclically through periods of heightened volatility”.
According to the EBRD’s submission, TFP – which works with more than 125 issuing banks in 32 countries and over 800 confirming banks worldwide – used 2025 to deepen support in some of its most fragile markets.
In Ukraine, €550mn in TFP-supported transactions through the year helped sustain imports of agricultural inputs, medical supplies and machinery, with tenors of up to two years easing pressure on the domestic banking system.
The EBRD also announced its first TFP-linked investment in Iraq last year, a US$100mn facility supporting the country’s reintegration into international trade. Elsewhere, shareholder approvals paved the way for the programme’s expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa.
Meanwhile, the EBRD also grew its risk-mitigation network in 2025, signing a new facility with Proparco alongside existing partnerships with Miga, British International Investment and the US International Development Finance Corporation.
On the sustainability front, the EBRD introduced its Green Discount in 2025, an incentive for eligible sustainable trade transactions – including activities aligned with climate mitigation, environmental technologies and sustainably sourced commodities – and expanded its Green Technology Selector to cover more than 30,000 technologies.
Green TFP volumes exceeded €1.1bn during the year, with a flagship deal financing high-efficiency power generation to replace coal capacity in Romania expected to cut CO2 emissions by 3.2 million tonnes a year. It also conducted an in-depth review of voluntary sustainability standards last year, developing a proprietary methodology to validate a broader range of sustainable commodity transactions across agricultural and forestry value chains.
“TFP illustrates how a multilateral development bank can combine scale, innovation and partnerships to safeguard trade flows, strengthen financial systems and achieve measurable development impact in diverse and often fragile markets,” said Shona Tatchell, director and head of the TFP.
Best bank for ESG: BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas combines ambitious group-wide targets with tailored financing for clients across sectors such as energy, infrastructure and manufacturing.
The Paris-headquartered bank introduced a dedicated sustainable trade finance ESG tag in 2025 to capture the financing’s specific characteristics, while revenues from transaction banking linked to low-carbon investment have doubled in recent years.
“We can offer our products across all industries provided our client has a credible transition strategy,” the bank said in its submission. “In 2025, we have implemented sustainability-related programmes in diverse industries such as metals, EVs, textiles, retail and chemicals.”
Its standout deals reflect the breadth of its approach. For example, BNP Paribas converted a 15-year-old umbrella guarantee facility for telecoms firm Ericsson into a sustainability-linked structure, connecting pricing to climate targets such as reaching net zero by 2040.
The bank’s deals reflect the breadth of its approach.
In Singapore, the lender closed a sustainable supplier finance programme for a German e-commerce company, helping the buyer gather reliable ESG data from suppliers across Asia.
The bank also supported large-scale transition infrastructure. It arranged a US$1bn financing package for the Eastern Green Link 2 subsea cable, designed to transmit up to 2GW of renewable power between Scotland and England, and acted as debt adviser on Sizewell C, the 3.2GW UK nuclear project expected to supply 6 million homes.
It served as mandated lead arranger, joint bookrunner and joint coordinator for a €300mn facility for the Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye, earmarked for climate adaptation lending to SMEs.
Social impact featured as well, including €90mn in financing backed by French export credit agency Bpifrance to renovate a hospital in Abidjan serving 1.5 million residents.
The bank also highlighted its sustainability training programmes for its trade and export finance staff.
Best bank for digitalisation: Lloyds
Lloyds takes the crown for best bank for digitalisation after converting a string of market-first digital trade transactions into repeatable, commercially active flows during 2025, in what the bank describes as a shift from “digital paper” to scalable, data-native trade.
The UK-headquartered bank expanded digital trade across major corridors linking Europe with Asia and the UK with Africa last year, and broadened the range of transaction types it supports, from bills of exchange to digital letters of credit (LCs) and structured data flows, according to its submission.
The lender attributed its success in scaling digital trade over the past year to its “instrumental” partnership-led strategy.
Milestones included the world’s first bill of exchange traded in the secondary market, building on Lloyds’ existing ‘four-corner’ digital negotiable instrument structure with non-bank lender Mercore; the first European import flows on the Europe-China Digital Superhighway in partnership with Enigio and TradeGo; and a first digital documentary LC on WaveBL for SME client Labtex.
The bank expanded digital trade across major corridors linking Europe with Asia and the UK with Africa last year, and broadened the range of transaction types it supports.
Lloyds said these were “not pilots, but real transactions, reflected in year-on-year volume growth – sixfold on Enigio and fourfold on WaveBL”.
The bank also highlighted delivering the industry’s “first dataset-driven proof of concept under LCs” with the ICC’s Digital Standards Initiative and Microsoft, enabling ERP-to-bank data flows.
Meanwhile, a “first full bidirectional integration” between Cleareye’s Cleartrade platform and Finastra TI+, completed during the year, is said to have cut processing times by up to 40% by automating document examination, compliance and sanctions screening.
Clients cited in Lloyds’ submission also report cycle times cut from weeks to just hours: take a UK-China transaction for Matalan and Yatex, which also won the bank a GTR Best Deals award, that was completed in under 20 hours, compared with a 45-day paper process.
Best supply chain finance bank: Santander
Santander’s award for best supply chain finance (SCF) bank, the second year in a row it has taken home the prize, reflects its ability to take a truly global approach to a product that varies widely from market to market.
Last year saw the bank deliver record SCF volumes, expand its geographical footprint further and provide a consistent, scalable offering to multinational clients with operations spanning Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. The number of suppliers financed through its programmes now exceeds 400,000.
Carlos Eraso, Santander’s global head of SCF, said 2025 was a “defining year” for the business, as growing economic uncertainty and supply chain complexity demanded greater resilience and execution strength from lending partners.
“Throughout the year, demand for sophisticated supply chain finance solutions continued to grow across sectors and geographies,” he said. “Santander’s ability to support clients with scalable, technology-driven and globally coordinated solutions has reinforced our position as a trusted partner for corporates.”
Technology continues to underpin these efforts. Santander’s Global Confirming platform – which processed payment flows totalling more than US$140bn across over 6,000 programmes – allows clients to integrate financing directly into their existing systems and automate invoice exchange and payment confirmation.
“Santander’s ability to support clients with scalable, technology-driven and globally coordinated solutions has reinforced our position as a trusted partner for corporates.”
Carlos Eraso, Santander
In 2025, the Global Confirming platform was enhanced further, including through invoice-level dashboards, automated reconciliation and advanced analytics. Coupled with Santander’s multilingual support for onboarding and outreach, this approach has helped clients manage growing volumes in a multi-entity and multi-currency environment.
Notable successes last year include transitioning a major industrial multinational from a local SCF programme to a cross-border one, covering Europe and North America, and rolling out digital capabilities for a European e-commerce firm with suppliers in more than 20 countries.
Best commodity trade finance bank: Société Générale
Société Générale clinches this award for the second year running, thanks to its strong performance in a challenging market and its focus on sustainability.
Much of 2025 was marked by economic uncertainty, tariff-driven disruption and slumping commodity prices; it was not until towards the end of the year that demand from traders picked up, driven by the metals sector. This environment required what Société Générale describes as “resilience, discipline and the ability to grow in a controlled and selective manner”.
“What is important to note is the continued investments in green energy, renewables and traceability from our clients.”
Alexis Christodoulou, Société Générale
Against that backdrop, the bank continued to participate in deals involving major trading houses. Its submission highlighted its role in facilities provided to Trafigura, including the renewal of the trader’s US$4.2bn North America energy borrowing base facility and financing for multiple Trafigura joint ventures and subsidiaries.
What stands out, however, is the bank’s emphasis on sustainable activity, despite an unfavourable trading and lending environment.
Société Générale cited its role as sustainability coordinator in two transactions – the refinancing of Sucden’s US$680mn sustainability-linked revolving credit facility (RCF) and a US$1.2bn borrowing base facility for ED&F Man Commodities – and joined two sustainability-linked RCFs obtained by Gunvor.
At the same time, it onboarded new clients in the metals recycling sector, including the European Metal Recycling Group and ICD Group Holdings, while supporting traders Mercuria and Traxys as they sought to expand their footprint in the metals market.
“What is important to note is the continued investments in green energy, renewables and traceability from our clients,” said Alexis Christodoulou, global head of trade and sustainable commodity finance.
“We are proud of the progress we have made and remain committed to clients and to our mission of fostering sustainable growth in the commodities sector.”
Best export finance bank: Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered impressed the judges with a long list of big-ticket, innovative deals closed with the support of export credit agencies (ECAs) and other multilateral institutions during 2025.
The bank put its emerging markets expertise to good use in export and agency finance over the year, with deals in countries such as Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania and Uzbekistan. The lender’s continued appetite for traditional export finance deals in riskier markets is laudable in an era where many ECAs are favouring developed countries and domestic financing.
Standard Chartered also flexed its muscle in structuring bespoke or complex credits. Examples included acting as the sole bank for a sustainability-linked loan to Côte d’Ivoire backed by a combination of guarantees from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, which the bank said could form a template for future deals; acting as the sole mandated lead arranger on a US$120mn International Finance Corporation-covered loan in Pakistan; and a €335mn electricity infrastructure financing to the government of Iraq that included collaboration from three re-insurers.
The bank put its emerging markets expertise to good use in export and agency finance over the year, with deals in countries such as Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania and Uzbekistan.
Mandated to structure the Asian Development Bank’s first policy-based partial credit guarantee, Standard Chartered worked with tight deadlines to arrange a US$1bn facility that included a compliant commodity murabaha structure, underlining what the judges saw as the bank’s depth of experience in structured export and agency finance.
Standard Chartered noted its deep relationships with ECAs, but it also described a growing use of World Bank products to allow it to offer cost-competitive financing to clients.
As its submission said, the lender is exploring beyond the usual export finance options because clients are “increasingly looking at unique ways to provide financing where traditional ECA products are not feasible”.
Best trade finance bank: Citi
Citi has secured this award for two years running in recognition of the breadth of its trade offering, digitisation efforts and role as a leading bank for institutional clients.
The lender compares strongly against peers across many key product areas such as payables finance, working capital, core trade and export credit agency-covered financing, according to metrics provided in its submission. Within its trade and treasury services unit, trade-related products have grown strongly in recent years, and the bank said almost all of its top 300 corporate clients use its trade services in some form.
Citi also stands out for its willingness to innovate. It already processes billions of dollars annually through its digital bill of exchange product, something that many lenders are only recently seeking to get off the ground.
The bank has also been a leader on tokenisation and finding ways to make processes like invoice management, payments, FX and purchase order financing more efficient for its clients.
An example that was developed during 2025 is Citi Consolidate, a platform powered by Infor Nexus that Citi said will enhance straight-through processing, minimise invoice approval time and accelerate access to working capital for its clients.
Citi also stands out for its willingness to innovate. It already processes billions of dollars annually through its digital bill of exchange product.
But the bank is also working to streamline traditional trade instruments, which remain a core offering. Citi said it now processes nine out of 10 transactions on the same day. It’s also further experimenting with AI to handle the laborious task of digesting data from the innumerable documents required for core trade transactions.
In a field with many highly deserving global trade banks, its commitment to building a sustainable future for trade finance, rather than just sticking to what works, gave Citi an edge.
