SWIFT revitalises trade and supply chain

Copying and distributing are prohibited without permission of the publisher

11 January 2010

Under Andre Casterman, Swift’s trade and supply chain team are spearheading a renewed focus on trade for the cooperative in 2010.

André Casterman, who used to be in charge of SWIFT’s business in France, was appointed head of the cooperative’s trade and supply chain team in October last year. His remit includes both traditional trade and the supply chain markets. It extends from inter-bank transactions to corporate-to-bank flows. He and his team are spearheading a renewed focus on trade for SWIFT at a time when banks are more interested than ever in offering their corporate clients ways to be more competitive.

Commenting on SWIFT’s goals in this space, Casterman is clear and succinct: “our mission in trade and supply chain is to help banks provide innovative trade and supply chain services that enable their corporate customers to reduce risk, enhance process efficiency and improve liquidity management.”

SWIFT’s trade team is working on a series of initiatives to support this goal and is now also looking at how it...

You must be logged in to view this page. If you are already a registered user please log in. Alternatively, you can request a free trial or subscribe.

Already have an account?

Subscribers have unlimited access to all current and archive content. Start your subscription today - click on the button below.

Free trial

Taking a free trial will give you access to the current issue for two weeks (excluding some surveys and articles). Start your free trial today.

Poll

Will Russia’s recent ban on grain exports result in a significant rise in private risk insurance claims from grain traders unable to fulfil their contracts?

Yes – there will be more claims. The government’s actions allow traders, with PRI cover, to make claims through contract frustration.

No - the majority of Russia’s wheat production, some 70%-80%, is used for domestic consumption so the contracts represent only a small portion of the total wheat market, limiting the amount of potential claims.

23%

No - traders had a week’s notice before the ban allowing them to secure alternative supplies to fulfil contracts stated as optional origin.

23%

Maybe - but claims are likely to be limited to traders dealing in soft wheat whose contracts demand they source wheat only from Russia.

46%