Introduction

The availability of trade finance has become an increasingly important issue in the past few years. For merchandise trade flows of over US$ 18 trillion annually to flow smoothly, there needs to be a wellfunctioning trade finance market serving the needs of global traders. However, the supply of trade finance does not meet demand in many regions. Even before the 2008-09 global financial crisis, a significant gap existed between the demand and supply of trade finance in emerging markets; since the crisis, this gap has grown, with some regions affected more than others.