IFC Trade Finance Applied Sales Course – Washington

A new Trade Finance Course co-developed with Investeq Capital of Kenya was delivered for a multinational audience of issuing banks and trade finance consultants by eBSI’s team of consultants in Washington DC in early November 2009. The Applied Trade Sales Course focuses on techniques and interventions which will allow trade finance marketing personnel and trade operations staff to better structure trade finance offerings and cross-sell related products.

Lead Tutor for the event Vincent O’Brien and program author Mr. Dan Awendo of Investeq were supported by contributions from Mr. Pavel Andrle from Czech Republic, Mrs Monique Philippe of France and Carlos Bacigalupe (Spain). IFC’s Staff provided a series of focused interventions on various products and services provided through the IFC to the banking and private sector. Over 40 participants attended the training from IFC’s African and Asian Countries of Operation.

The Applied Trade Sales seminar focused on the following areas in order to ensure first of all a proper understanding of the spectrum of trade finance products a bank can offer and how to structure them, and then explored the ways these structured offerings could be presented to banks clients. Below is a summary of topics covered:

Why is Trade attractive to Banks?

• Profitability, low risk, growing market
• capital efficiency, easy to monitor, can cross-sell
• Distinguishing between Operations and Sales
• Financing the trade cycle and associated products
• Warehouse Financing and collateral management
• Payment and Risk Categories in International Trade
• Foreign exchange and managing exchange risk
• Understanding the customers contracting
• Risk analysis of Trade Products
• Trade Sales in Action
• Trade Finance Fraud
• Global Trends in Trade Finance Products
• KYC Toolkit
• How to put yourself in your customers shoes?
• Case studies and role play sessions.