The ITFA Board is pleased to announce that ITFA presented at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Trade Facilitation Programme Annual Meeting in Tbilisi on 13th May as explained in the press release below.
The EBRD has honoured the most successful participants in its Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) 2014 in an award ceremony on the eve of the Bank’s Annual Meeting and Business Forum in Tbilisi.
The ceremony was part of the TFP’s annual information session, which attracted over 200 representatives from issuing and confirming banks under the programme as well as decision-makers in trade finance to discuss industry challenges with leading specialists including regulators and economists.
Alexander Saveliev, EBRD Director, Financial Institutions, opened the event with a speech detailing the evolution of the programme since 1999 followed by a welcome address to the audience from Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, Chief Executive Officer of TBC Bank, Georgia, which is one of the main sponsors of the conference.
“For many years the EBRD’s TFP has helped to develop the trade finance business of TBC Bank and we are very pleased to see the 2015 information session and award ceremony taking place in our country,” said Mr.Butskhrikidze, underlining the importance of trade finance for TBC Bank and the wider banking sector in Georgia.
Main topics of discussion were the latest trends and developments in factoring, forfaiting and supply-chain finance. With the exception of a few countries, the factoring business remains largely underdeveloped or non-existent in the EBRD regions. Leading specialists from factoring companies and organisations including Factors Chain International and the International Trade and Forfaiting Association discussed the development of this product in EBRD countries and ways to provide companies with wider access to this source of financing.
A second panel concentrated on imports of energy efficient machinery and equipment. Terry McCallion, EBRD Director, Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, outlined the importance of energy efficiency in trade finance as a lot of cross-border trade relates to such products. Representatives of Commerzbank, Germany, and Ukreximbank, Ukraine, illustrated how they specifically support energy efficient trade with the aim of also inspiring other banks to become more active in this field.
Presentations by representatives of the World Trade Organization, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the EBRD’s Office of the Chief Economist provided an update on trade and trade finance statistics as well as the latest trends and challenges in the industry, with a comprehensive outlook for the rest of year.
The panel discussions and presentations were followed by the highly anticipated TFP award ceremony for the most active TFP banks in 2014. The awards were presented by Nick Tesseyman, EBRD Managing Director, Financial Institutions, and Ambassador Chih-Kung Liu, Head of the Taipei Representative Office in the UK and second main sponsor of the event.
Before handing out the awards, Mr. Liu outlined the benefits of international trade for banks supported by the TFP, introduced Taiwanese trade and banking activities and encouraged the attendees to do business with the country.
The 2014 winners were:
| Award for 2014 | Winner |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in ARMENIA | Araratbank OJS |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in AZERBAIJAN | Muganbank OJSC |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in BELARUS | Priorbank RZB Group |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA | Raiffeisen dd Bank BiH |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in BULGARIA | Eurobank Bulgaria |
| Most Active Partner Bank in CROATIA | Privredna Banka Zagreb |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in FYR MACEDONIA | Komercijalna Banka AD Skopje |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in GEORGIA | TBC Bank |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in JORDAN | Jordan Ahli Bank |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in KAZAKHSTAN | JSC Kazkommertsbank |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in the KYRGYZ REPUBLIC | Demir Kyrgyz International Bank |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in MOLDOVA | BC “MOBIASBANCĂ – Groupe Société Générale” SA |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in MONGOLIA | Khan Bank |
| Most Active Partner Bank in MOROCCO | BMCE Bank |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in ROMANIA | Alpha Bank Romania S.A |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in SERBIA | Eurobank a.d. Beograd |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in TAJIKISTAN | OJSC Bank Eskhata |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in TUNISIA | Banque Tuniso-Koweitienne |
| First Guarantee Transaction in TURKEY | Şekerbank T.A.S. |
| Most Active Issuing Bank in UKRAINE | Raiffeisen Bank Aval PJSC |
| Most Active TFP Confirming Bank | Commerzbank AG |
| Most Active TFP Confirming Bank in SEMED | Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş. |
| Most Active TFP Confirming Bank in Taipei China | Bank of Taiwan |
| Trade Facilitation Programme Academic Excellence Award in co-operation with the ICC |
Stopanska Banka AD – Skopje |
| TFP Deal of the Year | |
| Supporting Gudauri & Bakuriani Snowmaking Project in Georgia |
TBC Bank |
The event was concluded with a dinner reception, accompanied by the Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet, during which international attendees had the opportunity to enjoy traditional Georgian hospitality while making new business contacts in the region. The dinner was hosted by Georgia’s TBC Bank.
Launched in 1999, the TFP aims to promote foreign trade to, from and among EBRD recipient countries. The TFP currently includes over 100 partner banks in 26 of the countries where the Bank invests, with limits exceeding €1.5 billion in total, and more than 800 confirming banks worldwide.
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