Suresh Advani joins ICC Banking Commission leadership

GML is an FCA-regulated investment manager active in trade finance and the emerging markets.

Suresh will lead the newest ICC Banking Commission project: Institutional Investors for Trade Finance (IITF), an ICC-led industry project with a broader remit to look at how best to improve risk transfer across a range of markets.  Prior to joining GML in 2005, Suresh spent twenty-four years working in investment banking, commercial banking and political and trade credit insurance with JP Morgan Chase, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Jardine Lloyd Thompson and Exporters Insurance Company Limited.   During his career, he has developed extensive experience of managing credit and country risk in emerging and frontier markets as well as developing risk syndication, transfer and enhancement techniques and capabilities to manage these risks.

With the phased introduction of the Basel 3 capital framework between 2013-2019, there is concern about the reduction in the supply of regulatory bank capital to support the trade finance asset class as well as other loan markets.  The expected growth in world trade is anticipated to increase the requirement for trade financing. This has led to concerns that banks will be unable to meet these needs even if there had been no changes to the Basel capital framework.   As a result, greater attention is being given to increase the level of risk transfer of trade finance from banks to non-traditional sources of capital such as investment funds (both general and specialist) and other forms of institutional investors (insurers, pension funds, etc.)

Kah Chye Tan, Chair of the ICC Banking Commission said: “We are delighted to have Suresh join us at the ICC Banking Commission as he brings extensive experience of trade banking, credit insurance and fund management. The Institutional Investors for Trade Finance (IITF) project will become an important new undertaking for us. Attaining a more effective level of  market transparency will be helpful to prospective investors and should in time permit access to deeper sources of capital. It is imperative that the trade finance market evolves in order to keep up with global trade growth for the benefit of the banking community, its clients and the international community we serve.”

More than ever, the ICC Banking Commission is helping policy makers and standard setters to translate their vision into concrete programs and regulations to enhance business practices throughout the world.  With over 80 years of experience and over 600 members in 85 countries, the ICC Banking Commission—the largest Commission of ICC—has rightly gained a reputation as the most authoritative voice in the field of trade finance.  “This appointment continues a process of structural growth in the leadership and the team of the Banking Commission and is in line with the commission’s objective to remain a recognized authority within the ever-evolving trade finance industry”, said Thierry Senechal, Senior Policy Manager and Executive Secretary, ICC Banking Commission.