Global trade has had a tough few years, what with supply-chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions and sustainability challenges. Corporates have had to adapt to this new reality, and banks have had to evolve as well.
HSBC, the world's largest trade-finance bank by revenue, launched Global Trade Solutions last month, a rebrand of its long-standing Global Trade and Receivables Finance (GTRF) business. The bank is moving beyond being a product provider and financier to offering more comprehensive and tailored solutions for clients.
“There's a much broader role for banks like us to play to help clients with these changes,” says Vivek Ramachandran, HSBC's head of global trade and receivables finance. “And so the branding reflects both where we are, but also where we are going.”
In 2023, HSBC facilitated $850 billion in trade. Global Trade Solutions focuses on three key areas: digitalization and automation of traditional trade finance; structured solutions for emerging business models; and embedded finance as a key growth driver.
The bank launched two new trade-finance products last year: automated guarantee issuance and Tradepay.
Guarantee issuance, traditionally a paper-heavy process, has been streamlined from three or four days to mere minutes by virtue of straight-through processing (STP). Although only tens of guarantees are currently issued this way, HSBC aims to reach 25% in the next couple of years.
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