Commentary

Asia Development Bank(ADB)'s latest news shows that its Trade Facilitation Program ( TFP) will increase trade volume of USD 1.2 billion among some difficult member countries due to the cooperation with OFID. It will stick to the traditional LC or banks' guarantee as trade facilitation tools to assist SMEs in emerging countries . Trade Facilitation Program , a product using LC and guarantee to promoting trade among commercial banks, was initiated by European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)whose mission is to assist its 29 member countries to quickly develop their economies in order to not falling back to communism after the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991.

With political turmoil and economic upheaval in many parts of the world, the need for closer interaction and trade between Muslim and non-Muslim countries has never been greater.

Asian retail banks face a serious problem: People lack confidence in them. Too often, potential customers remain unbanked or meet their financial needs elsewhere.

With political turmoil and economic upheaval in many parts of the world, the need for closer interaction and trade between Muslim and non-Muslim countries has never been greater.

The global financial and economic meltdown has created a new world with its own array of threats, opportunities and sustainability factors which call for fresh thinking to capitalize new horizons, damage control and preempt fallouts.

While the world was engrossed in watching the LIBOR scandal unfold recently and banks across the world were reviewing every index with palpitation, an important development came up in India.

I was at SIBOS, Osaka, Japan, last week, and it was a pleasure to meet several bankers across the world. Moreover, as the event was held in the Asia Pacific, there was a very good representation from the Asian Banking and Finance Community–a very good blend of banks, IT vendors, regulators, monetary agencies, Clearing and Settlement houses, depositories, and so on.

The US and European Private Equity (PE) industry has taken repeated hits after the escalation of the financial crisis in September 2008. LBO markets came to a halt through banks’ inability and unwillingness to lend.

Indian Wealth Management sector is growing at a phenomenal pace. Most of the prominent financial services firms in the country have set up private client verticals to be a part of this growth story.

It’s fair to say that, at the moment, consumer protection high on the agenda of many national regulators and central banks. The global financial crisis has severely dented consumer trust, with the most recent scandal – the LIBOR rate manipulation – dealing a further blow to consumer confidence.

The game begins when the Federal Reserve System allows commercial banks to create checkbook money out of nothing. When such a loan is placed on the bank's books it is shown as an asset because it is earning interest and, presumably, someday will be paid back.

Erroneous software sometimes play havoc in Capital markets. In 2012, the NASDAQ and other global stock exchanges were affected due to erroneous software not once, but thrice within a period of just three months!

Asian banking operations face increasing exposure from regulators around the world to AML regulations – though the pressure locally is diverse in approaches and lacks enforcement. This is particularly challenging because regulators from different Asian countries have different approaches - principle-based versus rules-based - and maturity in their regulatory oversight.

Resource constraint has already hit the overall global business and society as well. Moreover, on the path to industrialisation we have started neglecting our eco-system threatening the lives of teeming millions in tandem with the global climate change scenario.

The level of Financial Inclusion in the APEC countries is still very low. The Asian banking fraternity has taken various steps in the micro-finance sector especially in Philippines, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia (which has been an example for more than 25 years).

As I scanned my Insurance Day newsletter in London the day I wrote this article, three articles caught my eye “Market Update: trade credit claims rise in 2012 following 30% jump in 2011;” “Trade credit: uncollectable debts rising in North America;” and, then, “Credit insurers call for banks to ‘behave as they should to end financing gridlock [the International Credit Insurance & Surety Association] points at banking sector’s failure to extend credit as major obstacle to economic growth.” Despite the incongruity these headlines demonstrate the synergy between trade finance and trade credit insurance (TCI).