ICC Banking Commission meeting in Mexico to focus on “Making Self-Regulation Work”

Entitled “Making Self-Regulation Work”, this ICC Banking Commission conference is the first of the commission’s bi-annual meetings to be held in Latin America. It will explore finance issues at global and regional level, with analyses of business opportunities in Latin America, and South-South trade and investment.

As international debate rages on the resilience of the financial system and the need for the industry to comply with more stringent regulations, speakers and delegates at the meeting will take stock of what does and does not work in self-regulation today.

An expected 300 conference participants will be able to take part in discussions on the initial findings from the ICC Trade Register and a resulting Global Risks 2012 report, which now covers both short-term trade finance and medium- to long-term export finance. Discussions will also highlight progress made under ICC’s trade finance uniform rules – including UCP, URDG, URF, URBPO – which aim to encourage pragmatic, practical and effective governance in trade finance.

A trade finance summit on “Tools to Enhance Trade Finance” will take place on the final day.

“Our meetings provide a unique opportunity to learn from trade finance experts and bankers gathered to promote dialogue, make policy recommendations and develop rules to enhance trade finance practices throughout the world,” said Kah Chye Tan, Chair of the ICC Banking Commission.

Of particular interest to the banking industry is the ICC Banking Commission’s plan to present its new ICC Uniform Rules for Forfaiting (URF) for adoption at a plenary session in Mexico. URF are the first such rules to be drafted to serve both the primary and secondary markets. “The new URF rules were meticulously prepared over more than three years, in cooperation with the International Forfaiting Association, as well as various ICC constituent groups, so they take into account the legitimate expectations of all relevant sectors, reaching a wide consensus on the final text,” said Gary Collyer, Banking Commission Senior Technical Advisor.

In a context of financial instability and weak global economic activity, one of the priorities for ICC and its Banking Commission is to promote healthy financial systems, inclusive economic growth, sound investment policies, and ethical business practices.

The conference’s extended format encompasses both the significance of Latin America’s regional and global trade flows, and provides privileged information on some of the region’s most exciting markets through a range of informative panels and keynote addresses.