Banking & finance

ICC’s Istanbul 2014 meeting gathers 450 bankers to discuss industry challenges

  • 30 October 2014
ICC Finance

The Banking Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will hold its second 2014 bi-annual meeting in Istanbul this week.

The key theme for the meeting will be Trade Finance: Growth Engine for Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Hosted by the ICC Banking Commission and ICC Turkey, the event is an important gathering of over 500 bankers, business leaders, finance experts, lawyers and government officials from more than 55 countries worldwide.

The four-day event (from 3-6 November 2014) will provide trade finance professionals from corporations, international bodies and financial institutions, a unique opportunity to debate the challenges for trade finance around the world.

Keynote and panel topics will focus on issues that include:

  • The new engines of growth in trade finance,
  • Constraints impacting SME development,
  • Adoption of ICC Rules for Documentary Instruments Dispute Resolution Expertise (DOCDEX) to facilitate the rapid settlement of disputes arising in banking,
  • Value-creation opportunities in trade finance, and
  • The impact of financial crime risk in trade finance.

“Over the past 83 years, the ICC Banking Commission has established itself as the pre-eminent global forum for the trade finance industry,” said Kah Chye Tan, Chair of the ICC Banking Commission. “The body is playing an increasingly influential role in drafting rules and standards adopted by business at large. This meeting therefore presents participants with a unique opportunity for learning and networking with their peers and for engaging in thoughtful discourse on prevailing banking topics and on the industry as a whole.”

Turkey is where Europe meets the Middle East and Asia and Turkish financial and banking institutions have always been at the forefront of regional trade finance. Turkey recognizes that SMEs are the key engines of growth – at both a local and global level Turkey and has also been a leading innovator for SME trade finance because of its many small exporters. The regional strength of Turkish banks cannot be ignored as their broad correspondent network plays a major role in advancing trade finance and business interests in the region.

“Istanbul is on the eve of becoming a financial hub. ICC Turkey is delighted to play a central role in organizing the November 2014 Banking Commission event and contributing to the productive dialogue that is sure to develop in Istanbul, emerging global financial center” said Rifat Hisarciklioglu, President of ICC Turkey and TOBB, who has also been appointed by the Turkish government to lead the Business-20 during the Turkish Presidency of the G20.

In addition to plenary events, ICC Banking Commission task forces and working groups will meet to discuss technical topics related to bank guarantees, anti-money laundering and compliance, supply chain finance, factoring, forfaiting, legal issues, and regulation.

“The Banking Commission has reached a crossroads with the Istanbul meeting, with a record of 500+ delegates in attendance and tens of side events and meetings”, said Thierry Senechal, Senior Policy Manager, ICC Banking Commission. “In 2015, we will be introducing a new model for our meetings to ensure that we can sustain our growth and deliver best services for an increasing membership covering several new themes introduced in past months, including supply chain finance, factoring, financial crime risks and education”.

Learn more about the Istanbul ICC Banking Commission Meeting 2014

ICC Banking Commission