CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE - Sean Edwards, ITFA Chairman / Head of Legal at SMBC

Dear Members and Friends,

Before we get down to business, permit me an emotional moment or two. Since my last message the United Kingdom has been rocked by two dreadful terrorist incidents. The first targeted young children the age of many of our own; the second was too close to home for the many of our members who work in the City of London. Londoners and Mancunians are of course only the latest ones to have suffered. We are told that terrorism is a long-term problem; it is equally clear that each and every one of us must help to turn the tide. The harmony that is evident in the relationships between our members, a global community of different faiths, seems to me a better alternative than the messages of extremism.  

And when we work together what a world of (peaceful) opportunity this is. As we head into the last month of H1, the rally in emerging markets witnessed during the first five months of the year showed no signs of abating, with capital markets in the region remaining well in demand. Trading activity remained robust and this translated into a supportive global search for yield, within an asset class (region), which has so far remained versatile and offers minimal volatility.

As we announced at the beginning of the month, we have now opened registration for the 44^th ITFA Trade and Forfaiting Conference. Click here for more information and to register. Attending the annual conference is essential to doing business in the trade finance market and a good chance for all markets to exchange views with each other. We do hope that you will participate and we look forward to having the chance to welcome you to Edinburgh. Early Bird discounts are available till 30 June so register at your earliest to benefit from the preferred rates.

In the June edition of the ITFA Newsletter you will find a thought-provoking article entitled ‘’SCF and Trade: Fitting into the Landscape’’ written by Katharine Morton of TFR. Our regular feature - Chart of the Month, contributed by Dr. Rebecca Harding of Equant Analytics looks at Article 50 - time to take a strategic look at trade. Finally, we update you on the SERC event which took place in Madrid on 28^th April and the NERC Spring event that was held in Amsterdam on 11^th May 2017, just the latest of our ever-increasing list of regional events.

We look forward to hearing from you with any feedback you may want to share with us by sending an email to myself, any of the Board Members or to our general email, info@itfa.org.  

Best wishes,

Sean Edwards