Foreword

The expansion of trade depends on reliable, adequate and cost-effective sources of trade financing, which help to fill the time gap during which goods are produced, shipped and paid for. Trade finance is routinely supplied to exporters and importers by banks and other financial intermediaries, which mitigate the financial and payment risk involved in crossborder trade. While developed countries can often rely upon large and advanced economic sectors mobilizing sophisticated trade finance instruments, such as supply chain finance, significant shortages exist in developing countries. These shortages can have many reasons, both international (inflation, availability of correspondent banking relationships, country risk) and local (level of development and expertise of the financial sector, cost, access to finance by local firms).