State-Bank-of-India: Fundamentals of International Trade Finance

International trade is an essential component of every economy in the world. International markets offer a wider spectrum of opportunities and challenges in trade. Globalization and liberalization across the world along with easy availability of Trade Finance has further lead the way in broadening of foreign trade. Trade Finance refers to the availability of various structured and unstructured products for exporters and importers for financing their working capital cycle. Without adequate trade Finance, growth and development opportunities for the businesses are scarce. As per a WTO study in 2020, up to 80 percent of global trade is supported by some sort of financing or credit insurance.

As technology continues to transform the processes and systems, a new era is emerging in international trade finance. There is a growing demand for trade finance professionals from the banking as well as from the corporate sector. To meet the growing demand one must be technically skilled, understand the inherent risks and have thorough knowledge of the rules, regulations and procedure that govern international trade.

We at State Bank of India (SBI) are recognized as the premier bank of the country, not only in terms of size and customer base but also for our adherence to the best practices in the areas of Credit, International Banking, Compliance and Risk Management.

State Bank Academy is one of the State of the Art Apex Training Institutes (ATI) of State Bank of India established in 1982. The Institute trains professionals in the field of Credit, International Banking, Compliance and Risk. Our core strength lies in experienced faculties, who are professional bankers with hands on experience of working in their domain.

In this course, we shall endeavour to describe various stages of international trade where financing is required along with methods of financing international trade Comparative advantages and applications of these methods would also be discussed. Dedicated modules cover the detailed methods of settlements followed by processes and practices in traditional trade finance products viz. Letter of Credit, Bank Guarantees and Standby Letter of Credits.

There are also modules on Sanctions, Trade Based Money Laundering and safeguards required for necessary compliances.

The course concludes with emerging trends in international trade finance products in backdrop of technological innovations.