By Axel Reiserer
The EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) has honoured its most successful partner banks in 2020. An awards ceremony took place Wednesday during the first virtual TFP Information Session on the sidelines of the EBRD’s 30th Annual Meeting.
The awards illustrate the depth and breadth of the EBRD’s flagship programme, which has played a vital role in upholding trade in the Bank’s regions since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. The programme achieved a record annual volume of over €3.3 billion(US$3.9billion) in 2020.
The TFP Information Session, supported by the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund, was opened by EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso. She said: “I know I am addressing a truly remarkable audience today. You represent the very best of trade finance talent. You drive the international trade that is so vital for global economic growth, prosperity and peace.”
Emphasising the unprecedented disruptions to international trade caused by the global pandemic, she continued: “I know how hard you have all been working since the pandemic struck and I know we will overcome that crisis too.”
Prizes were awarded to:
Awards for 2020 winners
Most Active Issuing Bank in ALBANIA
Banka OTP Albania
Most Active Issuing Bank in ARMENIA
Armswissbank CJSC
Most Active Issuing Bank in BELARUS
Priorbank JSC, Member of RBI Group
Most Active Issuing Bank in BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Raiffeisen Bank D.D. Bosnia I Hercegovina
Most Active Issuing Bank in BULGARIA
Postbank
Most Active Partner Bank in CROATIA
Erste & Steiermärkische Bank D.D.
Most Active Issuing Bank in CYPRUS
Bank of Cyprus PCL
Most Active Issuing Bank in EGYPT
Bank Audi S.A.E.
Most Active Issuing Bank in GEORGIA
TBC Bank
Most Active Issuing Bank in GREECE
National Bank of Greece S.A.
Most Active Issuing Bank in JORDAN
Bank Al Etihad and Invest Bank
Most Active Issuing Bank in KAZAKHSTAN
JSC Bank Centercredit
Most Active Issuing Bank in KOSOVO
NLB Banka SH.A
Most Active Issuing Bank in KYRGYZ REPUBLIC
OJSC Optima Bank
Most Active Issuing Bank in LEBANON
Bank Audi SAL
Most Active Issuing Bank in MOLDOVA
Mobiasbanca – OTP GROUP S.A.
Most Active Issuing Bank in MONGOLIA
Khan Bank LLC
Most Active Issuing Bank in MONTENEGRO
Hipotekarna Bank AD Podgorica
Most Active Partner Bank in MOROCCO
Bank of Africa BMCE Group
Most Active Issuing Bank in NORTH MACEDONIA
Komercijalna Banka AD Skopje
Most Active Issuing Bank in ROMANIA
Alpha Bank Romania SA
Most Active Partner Bank in SERBIA
Eurobank Srbija
Most Active Issuing Bank in TAJIKISTAN
Bank Eskhata OJSC
Most Active Issuing Bank in TUNISIA
Amen Bank
Most Active Issuing Bank in TURKEY
Alternatifbank A.Ş.
Most Active Issuing Bank in TURKMENISTAN
JSCB Rysgal
Most Active Issuing Bank in UKRAINE
JSB Ukrgasbank
Most Active Issuing Bank in UZBEKISTAN
Uzpromstroybank JSCB
Most Active Issuing Bank in WEST BANK AND GAZA
Quds Bank
Most Active Confirming Bank
The TFP Awards Ceremony was introduced by EBRD Managing Director, Financial Institutions, Francis Malige. He said: “As we mark our 30th anniversary, we can take great pride in our achievements. The TFP has played a key role in supporting the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises that are so crucial for job creation, as well as helping to create greater equality of opportunity across societies. Many of our award-winning banks today developed their trade finance businesses with our help and have made extensive use of EBRD trade finance as well as our award-winning training programmes. Their success makes us extremely proud.”
Discussions first focused on the response to Covid-19. The pandemic greatly disrupted the global economy and world trade. During this period trade finance provided the security needed for the global movement of critical services and goods such as energy, food and medical products.
The EBRD highlighted best industry practices and crisis responses to the global pandemic, during which EBRD economies coped well with trade disruptions and digitalisation, and continued to support green trade.
Green trade was an integral topic of discussion in the Information Session. Kelly Hsieh from the Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom noted: “While the world is busy dealing with the pandemic, it is imperative that we do not lose sight of the brewing environmental crisis caused by climate change. The post-Covid-19 recovery should be a green one, and trade can play a very important role in this. I commend the EBRD’s continuing work in fostering green trade through the TFP and its Green Economy Financing Facility.”
The Information Session was also a reminder of the importance of digitalisation to promote financial inclusion. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for inclusive digital solutions to ensure that local banks across the EBRD regions are not left behind in the digital transition. As part of this approach, the Bank is partnering with digital solution providers and banks to support digitalisation efforts in trade finance within and beyond the regions where it invests.
The EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme promotes foreign trade to and from the economies where the EBRD invests. To date, the TFP has supported over 27,000 trade transactions, totalling more than €22 billion.
Chief Revenue Officer, The Trade Desk, Tim Sims, said: “We are entering a new TV normal, where new streaming viewing models sit side by side with traditional TV formats. From an advertiser’s perspective, this shift presents a tremendous opportunity. They can reach those streaming TV viewers with more precision and accuracy than ever because they can apply data to those TV campaigns in a way that’s not possible with linear. So, it provides incremental reach that’s an important element of a comprehensive TV ad campaign.”
