Growth in Global Trade Continues but Concerns about access to Trade Finance for SMEs

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has today (25/06/13) published a survey showing that despite a fall in growth in world trade in 2012 the market for trade finance shows signs of steady increase.

The global survey entitled Rethinking Trade and Finance – An ICC Private Sector Development Perspective involved representatives of 260 banks in 112 countries. Ian Talbot, Secretary General of ICC Ireland, the national committee of the ICC in Ireland, said, “While there are positive signs that there is an increase in demand for trade finance, there are a number of negative global trends which may hamper Irish companies’ ability to access affordable trade finance. These include a lack of clarity around the increasing regulation of international banking, pressure on European banks to sell off trade finance assets in order to raise capital, and an uneven performance by Ireland’s traditional trading partners.”   

“Trade finance is the oil that powers the engine of global economic growth, and with no dedicated state backed export credit guarantee scheme, Irish companies must be able to access these facilities via the commercial marketplace. Any reduction in the availability of commercial trade finance instruments will have a disproportionately negative effect on Irish businesses,” he concluded.

To download a copy of the report, click here.

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For further information contact Amy Woods, Chambers Ireland on 01 400 4319, 086 6081605 or email amy.woods@www.chambers.ie 

Notes to Editor
About the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Ireland
Chambers Ireland is the official representative of the International Chamber of Commerce in Ireland. ICC is the largest, most representative business organisation in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 120 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.

A world network of national committees keeps the ICC International Secretariat in Paris informed about national and regional business priorities. More than 2,000 experts drawn from ICC’s member companies feed their knowledge and experience into crafting the ICC stance on specific business issues.

The United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the G20 and many other intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, are kept in touch with the views of international business through ICC.

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