The GTR Leaders in Trade awards highlight excellence in the trade, commodity, supply chain and export finance markets, recognising pioneering institutions and top performers from around the world.
Judging is based on submissions sent to GTR that outline institutions’ greatest achievements throughout the course of 2024, as well as our analysis of Best Deals submissions.
This year’s process also benefitted from the input of a newly established judging advisory panel, made up of senior industry experts.
Congratulations to all the winners!
Regional awards
Best trade finance bank in East Africa:
Shortlisted nominees: CRDB, KCB Bank, Mauritius Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya
Winner: KCB Bank
Best trade finance bank in West Africa:
Shortlisted nominees: Deutsche Bank, Ecobank, FCMB Bank (UK), Stanbic IBTC, Zenith Bank UK
Winner: Stanbic IBTC
Best trade finance bank in Southern Africa:
Shortlisted nominees: Nedbank, Rand Merchant Bank, Standard Bank, Trade and Development Bank
Winner: Rand Merchant Bank
Best trade finance bank in the Middle East:
Shortlisted nominees: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Bank ABC, Commercial Bank of Dubai, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Qatar National Bank
Winner: First Abu Dhabi Bank
Best trade finance bank in North Africa:
Shortlisted nominees: Arab African International Bank, BACB, Banque Misr
Winner: BACB
Best trade finance bank in North America:
Shortlisted nominees: BNY, JP Morgan, MUFG, Scotiabank, TD Securities
Winner: JP Morgan
Best trade finance bank in Latin America:
Shortlisted nominees: Bank of America, Scotiabank
Winner: Bank of America
Best trade finance bank in Asia:
Shortlisted nominees: DBS Bank, HSBC, Mizuho, MUFG
Winner: DBS
Best trade finance bank in Eastern Europe:
Shortlisted nominees: Raiffeisen Bank International, TBC Bank, Ukrgasbank, UniCredit
Winner: UniCredit
Best trade finance bank in Western Europe:
Shortlisted nominees: BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, ING, UniCredit
Winner: Crédit Agricole
Best trade finance bank in the UK:
Shortlisted nominees: Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Santander
Winner: HSBC
Global awards: Other industry players
Best trade or supply chain finance law firm:
Shortlisted nominees: A&O Shearman, Norton Rose Fulbright, Sullivan
Winner: A&O Shearman
Shortlisted nominees: Baker McKenzie, Norton Rose Fulbright, Sullivan
Winner: Norton Rose Fulbright
Shortlisted nominees: Etihad Credit Insurance, Kuke
Winner: Kuke
Shortlisted nominees: Conpend, Enigio, Finverity, Komgo, MonetaGo
Winner: Enigio
Best fintech newcomer in trade:
Shortlisted nominees: Complidata, Mercore, Vayana TradeXchange
Winner: Mercore
Best trade finance software provider:
Shortlisted nominees: Cleareye, LiquidX, Mitigram, Surecomp, Traydstream
Winner: Cleareye
Best trade or supply chain finance platform:
Shortlisted nominees: CGI, Finverity, Premium Technology, PrimeRevenue
Winner: Premium Technology
Best trade credit insurance broker:
Shortlisted nominees: Aon, BPL, WTW
Winner: Aon
Best political risk insurance broker:
Shortlisted nominees: Aon, BPL, Marsh, WTW
Winner: Marsh
Best trade and political risk insurance underwriter
Winner: Allianz Trade
Global awards: Banks
Shortlisted nominees: Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation [MDB Trade Finance Working Group], International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation; Trade and Development Bank
Winner: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Shortlisted nominees: BNP Paribas, Crown Agents Bank, ING, Nedbank
Winner: BNP Paribas
Shortlisted nominees: Bank of America, Citi, DBS Bank, JP Morgan, Lloyds Bank
Winner: Lloyds Bank
Best supply chain finance bank:
Shortlisted nominees: Bank of America, Citi, ING, MUFG, Santander
Winner: Santander
Best commodity trade finance bank:
Shortlisted nominees: Ecobank, SMBC, Société Générale
Winner: Société Générale
Shortlisted nominees: BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Santander, SMBC, Standard Chartered
Winner: Santander
Shortlisted nominees: Citi, Crédit Agricole, Santander
Winner: Citi
Best trade finance bank in East Africa: KCB Bank Kenya
KCB Bank Kenya has been named the best trade finance bank in East Africa, recognising its regional leadership and commodity trade prowess.
In 2024, it handled over US$2.7bn of transactions, driven by financing the import of petroleum products and commodities into Kenya, according to its submission.
A particular achievement from last year includes a leading role in financing a multicurrency revolving collateral-backed credit facility worth US$430mn for the import of sugar, rice and fertiliser into East Africa.
The lender also played a “fundamental role” in the import of petroleum products into the wider East Africa region through trade finance instruments, it says.
The bank offers bespoke solutions across all regions where its clients operate, driven by its “extensive knowledge of trade and financing mechanisms and processes in emerging zones”, it says.
KCB Bank has focused on expanding its partnerships with correspondent banks to re-issue and confirm trade finance instruments. It currently has relationships with over 200 correspondent banks globally.
Alongside this, it has strategic partnerships with development banks, including the African Export-Import Bank and the Trade and Development Bank, aiming to drive cross-border trade and deepen financial inclusion.
Best trade finance bank in West Africa: Stanbic IBTC
Stanbic IBTC’s win this year is largely due to its commitment to customised client-focused solutions across the West African market.
The bank, a member of Standard Bank Group, the largest financial institution in Africa by assets, facilitated import letters of credit worth US$1.1bn and export deals worth US$1.2bn in 2024.
Oil and gas were a key focus, with the bank noting a US$436mn import letter of credit for the two commodities and US$936mn-worth of export facilitation for oil and gas clients as highlights of its transactions from last year.
The bank was also one of the first participants in the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, which launched officially in 2021 following a West African pilot. Since then, Stanbic has become the first commercial bank in Nigeria to complete an inbound commercial payment on the system.
Stanbic also made strides in trade digitalisation in 2024, becoming the first bank in West Africa to roll out automated trade document checking, it says in its submission.
This allowed it to automate compliance screening through the use of technology, including cloud computing, AI and natural language processing.
Automation has reduced wait times for clients and enhanced risk management for the bank, it says.
It also made use of its parent bank’s TradeOnline platform, which digitalises documents such as letters of credit.
The platform now has over 140 clients in Nigeria transacting on it, who can submit transactions to Stanbic in under five minutes. The bank says this has cut letter of credit scrutiny from five days to two hours.
Best trade finance bank in Southern Africa: Rand Merchant Bank
Rand Merchant Bank’s (RMB’s) win this year as best trade finance bank in Southern Africa recognises its role as a key provider of trade finance in the region.
In 2024, RMB facilitated more than US$565mn of trade loans across the whole of the African continent.
Throughout the year, it discounted more than R22bn (US$1.23bn) of invoices, which represents more than 30% of the market in South Africa.
Overall, RMB’s operations across the wider African market saw significant growth. It achieved a 100% increase in pre-tax profit for its Africa trade and working capital business in 2024, driven in particular by Botswana, Zambia and Eswatini.
In commodity finance, it continued to provide a finance facility to MeTL Group, Tanzania’s largest privately-owned conglomerate. Beginning in 2007 at US$10mn, the facility now sits at US$350mn, with US$100mn of that being added in 2024.
RMB became the first Southern African bank to join French development finance institution Proparco’s trade finance programme as a confirming bank. This gives it access to Proparco’s network of issuing banks, which it says will help facilitate trade.
The bank also closed numerous deals with sovereign clients across Africa last year, including a US$400mn mandate to provide a syndicated facility to the Angola Ministry of Finance and a €100mn bilateral facility with the Senegal Ministry of Finance.
“In 2024, despite significant global challenges, RMB’s trade finance business demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth, implementing innovative technologies, delivering tailored solutions to clients, and solidifying its leading role in South and Southern Africa,” says an RMB spokesperson.
Best trade finance bank in the Middle East: First Abu Dhabi Bank
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) wins this year’s award on the back of its strong growth in supply chain finance and widespread use of technology to streamline customer experience.
FAB boasts the largest local banking network in the UAE, a US$1.36bn SME-focused supply chain finance programme with the nation’s government and a 100% straight-through processing of supply chain finance.
On top of this, it is the first regional bank to have a fully automated supply chain finance solution, and over 98% of its trade volumes are processed digitally.
Its partners include UK-headquartered Silver Birch, a specialist working capital firm. Together, the two offer inventory solutions to suit specific client needs.
The solutions allow for strategic management of inventory and enable volume or early payment discounts with suppliers.
Other partners include LiquidX, which helps FAB harness advanced blockchain technology to deliver innovative supply chain finance solutions, boosting its international transaction banking capabilities.
The collaboration enhances access to working capital for corporates across the Middle East, North Africa, the US and Europe, streamlining global trade finance operations.
FAB also continued to strengthen its sustainability credentials through a strategic partnership with Coriolis Technologies, boosting its supply chain finance offering.
By integrating Coriolis’ advanced ESG data analytics, FAB enables clients to assess and improve the sustainability of their supply chains, supporting the UAE’s net-zero agenda.
This collaboration enables greater transparency, aligns with global ESG standards and reinforces FAB’s commitment to innovative, value-added solutions for clients.
Best trade finance bank in North Africa: BACB
Earning its sixth consecutive win on this list, the UK-based and Libyan-owned British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB) handled over US$2bn in trade transactions in 2024, an increase of over 40% year on year, according to its submission.
Its win reflects its role as one of the few multinational banks to facilitate trade finance transactions from all seven North African nations, particularly in challenging geopolitical conditions.
In 2024, it continued to operate in Libya despite the ongoing political struggle affecting the country’s central bank and oil production, making it the only UK bank currently issuing letters of credit for companies operating in Libya.
BACB says its “deep knowledge” of the region meant it could weather the headwinds and maintain relative stability for its clients and partners.
It also worked alongside banks and insurance providers to create “greater appetite and liquidity for North African trade”, syndicating more than US$650mn.
In 2024, BACB was the mandated lead arranger for two trade finance loans totalling US$105mn to finance the import of supplies of strategic goods into Egypt.
It arranged and underwrote both transactions alongside local Egyptian financial institutions and syndicated them to a club of participants.
The bank has also been busy developing its digital offerings: in October 2024, it established a partnership with fintech Komgo, providing its clients with a platform for “enhanced partnership” and eliminating process delays.
Best trade finance bank in North America: JP Morgan
This award emphasises JP Morgan’s track record in delivering trade finance solutions by deploying what it describes as “robust global presence, top-rated investment banking services, and deep expertise in facilitating international trade”.
It aims to “redefine industry standards” with its trade finance products and services, it says.
In May 2024, JP Morgan partnered with Slope, an embedded finance platform providing digital trade credit, which enabled the bank to refer corporate clients to Slope and extend payment terms for its business customers while receiving funds immediately.
“Supported by JP Morgan’s debt facility, this solution offers rapid underwriting decisions and is available to global merchants, targeting Fortune 500 clients,” it says.
“We anticipate onboarding several marquee merchants in the first half of 2025, with headquarters in North America.”
During 2024, the bank processed over US$25bn in invoices for more than 25 global companies and 150 buying entities in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector.
It also structured a receivables purchase programme totalling more than US$1bn for one of the largest Medicare providers in the US.
In the energy sector, it provided a US$1.2bn usance payable at sight letter of credit facility to offer early payment to suppliers while facilitating access to working capital. The facility allows suppliers to draw funds when they present the required documents, allowing them to receive payment earlier than the agreed-upon date at no additional cost.
The bank also continues to operate its first supply chain programme, launched in 1994, which now has over 1,500 buying entities and more than 46,000 suppliers worldwide. It covers 56 countries and supports 30 currencies.
Best trade finance bank in Latin America: Bank of America
Bank of America has continued to grow its corporate trade portfolio across more than 25 jurisdictions in Latin America.
The bank won new and expanded existing supply chain finance (SCF) programmes as it took advantage of the region’s role as a nearshoring alternative.
During 2024, it formed a strategic alliance in Brazil with a third-party SCF service provider Monkey, and worked with eFactor in Mexico. It says it has “streamlined” how it connects with third parties through a module in its platform that enables simplified access to data.
Overall, in 2024, Bank of America grew its corporate trade portfolio to more than 40 programmes with over 900 suppliers and more than US$900mn in assets – as well as acting as lead arranger in around US$400mn-worth of export and agency finance mandates.
The bank says it is working with industry bodies and technology firms to “fundamentally reshape trade finance processes” in the LatAm region and increase interoperability.
Its aim is to “more effectively scale supply chain finance programmes in the medium- to long-term and increase our clients’ access to capital”.
“As Latin America continues to make advancements in fostering a competitive business environment and attracting foreign investment, Bank of America is heavily investing resources to expand our trade capabilities and support our clients in unlocking growth in this region,” says Jean Paul Antelo, head of trade and supply chain finance for the region.
Best trade finance bank in Asia: DBS
Singapore-headquartered DBS Bank secured the award for best trade finance bank in Asia, reflecting its continual refinement of a value proposition aligned to clients’ needs.
Throughout 2024, the bank says it was able to leverage its regional expertise and innovative trade finance solutions to help its clients expand globally and build resilience.
DBS supported US$13bn in intra-Asia network trades, while its letter of credit market share in the Middle East increased year on year from 7% to 10%.
The bank says it facilitated growing export and import flows between Iraq and China, using the cross-border interbank payment system network to address cross-border advising and settlement challenges for its client, Iraqi Islamic Bank.
It supported 10 clients with pre-export finance with a mandate value of US$1bn, and eight clients with trade borrowing base finance, for a mandate value of US$1.1bn.
DBS also helped Chinese companies diversify regionally, including supporting 133 groups expanding abroad and US$16bn in trade flows linked to Chinese imports.
To support decarbonisation, it financed Sanfield Management in Hong Kong through a sustainability-linked supplier payment solution, offering discounts to suppliers based on their performance against set targets. “Customers remain at the forefront of our transformative endeavours,” says Sriram Muthukrishnan, group head of product management, global transaction services, at DBS.
“In 2024, we invested in the technologies, partnerships, and service quality we believe our clients need to grow and expand in these uncertain times.”
Best trade finance bank in Eastern Europe: UniCredit
UniCredit stood out for its work to improve and expand its line of products and services in Eastern Europe in 2024, supporting clients amid difficult macroeconomic conditions.
The bank says it ranks first for market share for trade and working capital solutions in Eastern Europe.
UniCredit expanded its scope in international factoring, offering import factoring through the FCI network for the first time in Serbia.
In Bulgaria, it provided a customised working capital solution that combines recourse and non-recourse reverse factoring for a leading distribution company.
This supports “customer cash flows in both directions, shortening receivables due date from its clients and increasing deferred payment towards suppliers”, the bank says.
The recourse factoring line has 15 debtors onboarded, while the reverse factoring line has 10 suppliers. As of 2024, the solution has been adopted for nearly 95% of the company’s transactions.
Elsewhere, building on the export credit agency insurance guarantee programme introduced in 2023 for clients impacted by the Ukraine crisis, the bank was able to provide liquidity financing needed for a client’s business continuity in Croatia.
Digitalisation continues to be a focus for UniCredit. Bulgaria’s Bulbank Online virtual ecosystem, introduced in 2023 and including a trade finance component, “has seen usage skyrocket in 2024, with over 85% of all trade finance transactions being handled through the digital platform”.
Last year, the bank provided a fully automated end-to-end process for factoring and receivables financing for clients in Hungary.
“Our digital trade finance offering stands out due to its focus on simplicity, greater connection with customers, and real-time monitoring,” says Francesca Nenci, global head of trade finance and correspondent banking.
Best trade finance bank in Western Europe: Crédit Agricole
Crédit Agricole’s award for the best trade finance bank in Western Europe reflects its track record of major deals, digitalisation efforts and new partnerships.
In 2024, it says it focused on supporting the energy transition and the renewable energy sector, which included a US$200mn increase of a bilateral facility for a UK client to support the development of utility-scale solar and energy storage projects in the US.
Crédit Agricole issued €130mn of guarantees for a Japanese client for the construction of French offshore wind farms, and provided a €300mn bilateral facility for an EU wind turbine manufacturer.
It also developed its digital offerings, including rolling out the Munich-based fintech Digital Vault Services platform in Germany and expanding its digital guarantee issuance capabilities.
Elsewhere, it deployed the Rivo Surecomp cloud-based trade finance portal in the Nordics.
“Our digital initiatives position us as a leader in the industry. By embracing cutting-edge technology, we empower our clients with innovative, efficient and secure services,” the bank says.
Crédit Agricole issued letters of credit (LCs) totalling €3.4bn within export financing facilities for major industrial EU clients in emerging Asian countries.
The bank also structured umbrella guarantee facilities involving multiple clients and banks, and provided import LCs with usance payable at sight clauses, with a focus on the Italian market.
“We deliver tailored solutions that drive meaningful results,” a spokesperson for the bank says.
Best trade finance bank in the UK: HSBC
HSBC has been named best trade finance bank in the UK after a stellar year striking a range of large deals and launching new ventures.
It is the largest trade finance bank by revenue, globally and in the UK, and it says it is a “clear and undisputed leader in UK trade activities”.
In October 2024, the bank launched a jointly owned venture, SemFi by HSBC, with trade network Tradeshift, which aims to deliver embedded finance solutions to business clients, initially in the UK.
The bank also rolled out its HSBC Trade Solutions platform for all clients in the UK and launched TradePay in the first half of 2024, which offers ‘just in time’ financing. As of the beginning of the year, it boasts around 300 active customers, facilitating £500mn of transactions.
Last year, HSBC added a sustainability-linked feature to its existing supply chain finance programme for Asda, meaning that the supermarket’s suppliers will be incentivised to share their ESG data, and establish and make progress towards ESG commitments in return for enhanced rates of financing.
Elsewhere, the bank has supported existing client Pelican Engineering with a £90m facility enabling the purchase of 600 electronic buses, which it says will save an estimated 27,600 tonnes of CO2 emissions from British transport.
“By fostering strong relationships with our global network of partners and combining local expertise with global reach, we help businesses unlock new opportunities, expand into new markets, and achieve sustainable success,” says Stephanie Betant, head of global trade solutions at HSBC UK.
“Our team’s dedication to innovation, integrity and excellence ensures that we remain a dependable guide for businesses as they navigate the complexities of international commerce.”
Best trade or supply chain finance law firm: A&O Shearman
A&O Shearman won the award for best trade or supply chain finance law firm for the third consecutive year, after advising major trading houses and international banks on large deals, complex transactions and market firsts.
A&O Shearman’s submission highlights its role in sustainable trade finance, including advising STX Group, an environmental markets and climate solutions firm, on a €375mn sustainability-linked borrowing base facility.
This deal, the law firm says, was “the first commodities borrowing base facility to include such a broad range of environmental commodities”, including carbon credits covered by the EU Emissions Trading System and the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Other major deals included advising metals trader IXM on a US$850mn revolving credit facility for general trade and working capital finance purposes and a group of lenders on US$300mn revolving credit facilities for one of the world’s largest sugar traders, Alvean Sugar.
A&O Shearman has also acted for newer players in the trade finance sector as they look to free up working capital.
“In the last 12 months, we have acted on a number of deals involving private equity firms, corporates and sponsor portfolio companies looking to utilise receivables finance and other trade finance products to maximise working capital, including in the global energy transition space,” the law firm says.
Such deals include advising Mercuria Energy Group on a US$650mn financing arrangement to facilitate oil and gas firm Oando’s acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company from the Italian energy company, Eni.
“We are at the forefront of the development, advising private credit funds looking to deploy capital towards trade finance assets,” the firm adds.
Best export finance law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright
London-headquartered law firm Norton Rose Fulbright stood out once again this year for its geographic reach and range of major global clients.
Its banking clients include Citi, Rabobank, JP Morgan, Crédit Agricole and Bank of America, and it works across all commodity sectors.
Several deals completed in 2024 exceeded US$1bn each.
Throughout 2024, Norton Rose focused on Africa and Latin America, but also advised clients with a global geographical scope. One example was advising ED&F Man Group on its worldwide borrowing base, which involved security across 29 jurisdictions.
“We continue to be a first choice for clients in African commodity transactions,” the law firm says, thanks to its wide-ranging experience, including with inventory financing arrangements.
Its submission highlighted its involvement in relatively new areas of trade finance, including emissions allowances and carbon credit borrowing base facilities.
The submission also flagged Norton Rose’s expertise in structuring and advising on insurance-backed receivable finance programmes.
This included a “groundbreaking” US$1bn uncommitted facility for discounting credit-insured receivables and prepayments extended to Trafigura by a syndicate of banks, arranged by Natixis.
“Our market status reflects the recognition of our experience and quality of services by our clients and the breadth of our practice, which focuses not only on receivables programmes or commodity-based products, but the full range of other commodity trade finance-related transactions,” the law firm says.
Best export credit agency: Kuke
Poland’s export credit agency (ECA) Kuke impressed by inking a series of deals across the world that saw its insurance coverage grow in value and volume.
The value of Kuke’s insurance coverage for contracts, export credits and insurance guarantees with a repayment period of two or more years jumped by 23.2% to €930mn year on year.
This included 11 investment loans totalling €110mn to finance pre-export investments carried out in Poland and €13.5mn to reinsure the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency’s political risk cover for Polish companies in Ukraine.
Kuke’s number of insurance policies and guarantees issued grew by 8.7% in 2024.
The ECA also introduced green guarantees for the first time to help local companies finance energy transition expenses, as well as reduce the risk to banks of lending for green investments.
Additionally, the ECA extended its Shop in Poland initiative, which aims to help Polish exporters find new foreign markets or to increase exports for markets where they are already active.
One example is a loan arranged by Standard Chartered and insured by Kuke, along with the Danish ECA, to construct maternity wards in Côte d’Ivoire.
Polish businesses will be among the subcontractors providing deliveries or services.
Elsewhere, Kuke built on a state-run programme to support the foreign expansion of Polish companies in Africa by insuring an export credit agreement with Rwanda.
The loan, provided by Polish development bank BGK, will help Polish company Faspol deliver nearly 400 milk cooling installations to state-run collection centres in Rwanda.
Best fintech in trade: Enigio
Throughout 2024, Stockholm-headquartered Enigio reached new milestones in digitising trade finance.
Its trace:original open digital document solution was the first to be fully compliant with the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records, which has been used as the basis of digital trade laws in countries such as the UK and Singapore.
The solution was verified by the International Chamber of Commerce’s Digital Standards Initiative and Digital Governance Council self-assessment.
The fintech says its solution “ensures full legal compliance, seamless interoperability and enhanced security for global trade finance”.
Enigio’s solution boasts up to a 90% cost reduction in processing and managing trade documents electronically and up to an 80% reduction in manual processing tasks, it says.
Working with Mercore and Lloyds Bank under the International Trade and Forfaiting Association’s digital negotiable instruments initiative, it enabled cross-border transactions to show how jurisdictions not covered by the Electronic Trade Documents Act “can still leverage legally compliant frameworks through technology”.
Other achievements include the creation of a “digital trade corridor” between Europe and China, in partnership with blockchain consortium TradeGo and freight forwarding company FMS.
This allows users to transact digitally across regions, the fintech says, and complete transactions in hours rather than weeks.
Enigio also set a “new industry benchmark” in its partnership with Lloyds and blockchain payment system Fnality to integrate blockchain-based instant settlement for digital trade finance instruments.
It says the industry is at “a defining moment for trade finance digitisation”, with trace:original not just a product but the “foundation” of an ecosystem.
Best fintech newcomer in trade: Mercore
Mercore has been named winner of best fintech newcomer in trade after demonstrating its “laser focus” on delivering trade finance solutions through the use of digital negotiable instruments.
In its three years of operation, Mercore has established itself in the trade finance industry, and in 2024, it facilitated 95 deals, totalling around US$10mn.
Working with Lloyds Bank, it executed the world’s first digital documentary collection, and also carried out a series of digital trade transactions under the International Trade and Forfaiting Association’s digital negotiable instruments (DNI) initiative.
The deals used digital bills of exchange created via Enigio’s trace:original solution, which Mercore says marked “a historic moment in trade finance as the first node-to-node DNI transactions between two financial institutions”.
It has also developed a niche in working with SMEs, with a key example being its approach to SME trade finance in Uganda.
Mercore partnered with a Ugandan coffee co-operative that supports local smallholder farmers by ensuring fair pricing and sustainable market opportunities.
The fintech introduced a receivables discounting solution, enabling the distributor to pay farmers for their coffee quickly and allowing producers to reinvest in their crops.
The arrangement also bridged the payment gap between procurement and final sale, Mercore says.
“This collaboration highlights Mercore’s ability to deliver innovative, client-focused solutions that drive business success while making a positive social impact,” the firm says.
In Kenya, Mercore’s solutions have ramped up production capabilities for a biotech company, which means they can meet growing global demand for organic pesticides and promptly pay farmers.
Best trade finance software provider: Cleareye
Last year saw several successes for Cleareye and its trade finance platform ClearTrade, as it grew to serve more than 10 clients by the end of 2024.
These include global institutions like JP Morgan, Bank of America, Mizuho Bank, Gulf International Bank and Riyad Bank.
ClearTrade is the only trade finance platform hosted on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the fintech says in its submission.
The ClearTrade platform combines document digitisation, rule-based checks, sanctions screening and trade-based money laundering checks.
The fintech says it delivers document classification and extraction rates of 98% and 91% respectively, exceeding the industry average of 65% in legacy systems.
This leads to one-time cost savings of US$8mn and annual savings of US$4.5mn, it says.
The use of ClearTrade at one Asia Pacific bank resulted in an immediate 20% reduction in document processing time and an improvement in compliance workflows.
The solution also halved the processing time for one of India’s largest private sector banks, largely through integration with existing back-office applications.
Cleareye also continued its partnerships with global firms such as Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and S&P, while its partnership with Finastra, China Systems and Surecomp “ensures integration with the broader trade finance ecosystem”.
“Our rapid growth, from two clients in 2022 to double-digit global banking and financial services institutions by 2024, is a testament to the trust banks place in us,” says Mariya George, chief executive and co-founder of Cleareye.
“We remain committed to innovation and delivering value to our clients, helping them thrive in a dynamic and evolving industry.”
Best trade or supply chain finance platform: Premium Technology
New Jersey-headquartered Premium Technology secured the award for best trade or supply chain finance (SCF) platform for the first time.
Its FinShare platform, which offers users a suite of supply chain finance solutions, facilitates more than 50 million transactions monthly and serves 50,000 SME clients daily, it says in its submission.
The firm had a number of achievements in 2024, such as expanding SMBC’s supply chain finance solutions across nine global regions, including the US, UK and UAE.
This showed Premium Technology’s “capacity for multi-regional initiatives” and supports payables, receivables and embedded financing.
For MUFG, the firm launched a seller-centric SCF platform across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific in a bid to reduce manual processes, while for Kuwait’s Boubyan Bank, it implemented a shariah-compliant Islamic SCF solution.
For Thailand’s Krungthai Bank, Premium Technology developed an automated end-to-end workflow and real-time tracking system for open account financing.
This helped increase transparency and operational efficiency for Krungthai’s customers.
“Premium Technology is committed to transforming the trade and supply chain finance ecosystem with innovative, scalable, and client-centric solutions,” says John Monaghan, senior business advisor at Premium Technology.
“In 2024, we’ve demonstrated our ability to deliver on this promise with the successful implementation of partnerships initiated in 2023 and the rollout of advanced features such as ESG financing, deep-tier financing and multi-funder models.”
Best trade credit insurance broker: Aon
Aon had a standout year in 2024, helping large corporates and financial institutions to increase their capacity through trade credit.
One of Aon’s successes in 2024 includes winning a tender to create credit solutions for a leading US-based AI firm with a market cap of US$3.6tn.
The team won thanks to Aon’s actuarial analysis, programme restructuring and digital advancements, enabling the firm to continue to grow trade across numerous industries, including financial services and healthcare.
Aon also created an excess lines facility to drive additional capital into the trade credit market, working alongside Lloyd’s syndicate Mercury.
In Portugal, the insurance broker addressed capital ratio challenges a banking client is likely to face due to new Basel 4 changes.
“Aon quickly established a proposition to transfer credit risk for US$12bn of receivables on a capital relief compliant policy wording,” Aon says in its submission, noting that this was the first transaction of its kind in Portugal and will mainly reach SMEs.
For its global corporates business, Aon placed US$800mn in annual premiums for more than 1,000 clients, and for financial institutions, it placed US$300mn in annual premiums.
Overall, Aon Credit Solutions achieved a compound annual growth rate of 10% in 2024, driven by a robust retention rate for existing customers and high-performing new business.
Stuart Lawson, global head of Aon Credit Solutions, says: “We know our world is more volatile in every respect. Aon continues to face these challenges to get the very best outcomes for new and existing clients.”
Best political risk insurance broker: Marsh
Marsh’s team placed a range of high-value political risk policies in 2024 across its core clients of financial institutions, commodity traders, public agencies, exporters and infrastructure investors.
The broker’s political risk and structured credit team manages overall exposure of more than US$100bn globally, with more than US$20bn relating to political risk insurance (PRI) exposures – making it the largest PRI portfolio in the market.
Significant placements in 2024 include cover to mitigate the risk of government interference at a large lithium mine in Mali for a renewable energy investor developing power generation assets.
Marsh developed a bespoke extended PRI solution, enabling the client to sign the project and supply agreements with the mine.
In 2024, Marsh expanded insurer appetite for commodity business and developed the market by driving new solutions for financial contracts alongside traditional physical contracts.
It also secured new appointments from export credit agencies (ECAs), multilateral agencies and development finance institutions, with the result that it now works with half of the largest ECAs ranked by transaction volume size.
Marsh also redeveloped its ICAP Trade Finance platform, a bespoke trade finance distribution platform, to support a leading multilateral development bank in Africa.
“Our digital tool offers instant access to pre-agreed insurance capacity, providing limit relief to origination desks and enabling them to close larger transactions quicker,” the broker says in its submission.
Best trade and political risk insurance underwriter: Allianz Trade
Allianz Trade took home the award for best trade and political risk insurance underwriter.
The insurer monitors risk in 240 countries and across 18 sectors, with a team of more than 580 credit risk analysts and 470 credit underwriters.
In 2024, it supported more than €250bn of trade finance transactions worldwide and manages 22,000 credit decisions a day.
Last year it also launched Allianz Trade Pay, a payment solution dedicated to B2B e-commerce activities.
The solution offers trade credit insurance protection, an online fraud risk management and mitigation module, a digital buyer onboarding solution and an instant financing solution through one of its partners.
Another major innovation in 2024 from Allianz Trade was its Surety Green2Green solution, which aims to accelerate the sustainable transition.
“As a surety specialist, Allianz Trade financially protects its clients’ business partners against any loss occurring due to late or incomplete performance of obligations,” the underwriter says in its submission.
“Surety Green2Green follows the same logic: without surety bonds, many sustainable projects would face significant financial risks and legal barriers, and even not come to life.”
The product enables clients to participate in low-carbon technologies and renewables projects via surety bonds and guarantees, with the premiums held as investments in certified green bonds.
This creates “a circular model that continually fuels sustainability progress”, Allianz Trade says.
Best development bank in trade: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) prevailed in a competitive category after a record year for trade facilitation.
Last year, its trade facilitation programme (TFP) facilitated over 1,800 transactions across 24 countries through 93 partner banks, totalling €4.6bn.
This included €472mn in trade for Ukraine, with €44mn for machinery and farming equipment, while guarantees enabled €81mn in credit card transactions.
The TFP operates across Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean with annual programme limits exceeding €3bn.
The green arm of the programme facilitated €1.1bn in green trade, a third higher year on year. These transactions, which included goods such as wind turbines and solar panels, accounted for almost a quarter of the TFP’s total volume.
The EBRD is expanding the programme to include Iraq and Sub-Saharan Africa in 2025.
“The EBRD’s TFP has been a flagship business that demonstrates the unique role played by multilateral development banks in transitioning countries from developing to developed economies. The first programme of its kind anywhere, the EBRD’s TFP established a blueprint for others to adopt,” says Shona Tatchell, the programme’s director.
The EBRD is also leading initiatives in Egypt, Morocco and Turkey to support the digitalisation of trade.
In Morocco and Turkey, the organisation is helping to create a robust legal framework for digital trade by aligning with international standards such as the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records.
In Egypt, the EBRD has partnered with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and the International Chamber of Commerce’s Digital Standards Initiative to promote digitalisation, delivering capacity-building workshops for the public and private sectors.
Best bank for ESG: BNP Paribas
Following on from its success in this category in 2023, BNP Paribas has been named best bank for ESG in trade and export finance.
Last year, the bank implemented sustainability-related programmes in a range of industries, including metals, textiles and chemicals.
Its approach is to support the entire value chain, rather than individual firms within it.
“In wind energy, we not only led very large guarantee programmes for project developers, but also actively supported wind turbine and cable manufacturers, cable manufacturers and vessels for the installation of offshore wind,” it says in its submission.
As a result, its low-carbon trade finance-related exposure totalled €7.5bn in June 2024 – marking a 7% increase compared to FY2023.
BNP Paribas has taken a similar approach to the electric vehicle (EV) value chain, where it supports the downstream manufacturing of EVs alongside the creation of “tailor-made solutions” to back critical minerals projects and chemicals used in upstream processes.
It has also partnered with a large chemical company on what it calls a “pioneering supplier finance programme” that combines sustainability with working capital optimisation.
The programme covers 18 buyers and more than 100 suppliers across Emea and aims to support a 13.5% reduction of scope 3 emissions by 2030.
The tiered pricing structure incentivises suppliers to improve their sustainability performance, while offering extended payment terms and alternative liquidity solutions for suppliers.
Best bank for digitalisation: Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank has had another impressive year in the digitalisation space amid fierce competition in the category.
Its partnerships with Enigio and WaveBL supported clients to “lead the way in the digitalisation of trade, making it more efficient and cheaper for the whole ecosystem”, the bank says in its submission.
Its partnership with Cleareye to automate processes such as document examination and compliance checks is also reducing transactional risk.
After being the first bank to complete digital negotiable instrument transactions under the International Trade and Forfaiting Association’s digital negotiable instrument initiative, it has built on this offering by delivering four-corner model transactions to prove the transferability of Enigio’s trace:original documents.
Lloyds has also continued to work on the digital issuance of guarantees and to remove paper from the process. In 2024, it grew its ability to issue guarantees digitally and operated across more than 30 jurisdictions.
It has launched digital application journeys on its website to enable customers to enquire about and request issuance, amendment or cancellation of guarantees and standby letters of credit using interactive forms.
“It’s been fantastic to be involved in these groundbreaking trades that build on the success of the world-leading digital transactions we have completed over the last two years,” says Surath Sengupta, head of trade and working capital at Lloyds.
“We look forward to collaborating with more clients and banking partners to make digital trade a reality.”
Best supply chain finance bank: Santander
Showing its more than 30 years of experience in supplier finance, Santander took home the award for best supply chain finance (SCF) bank.
To date, the bank services 3,150 programmes globally and has over 400,000 suppliers onboarded. It processes annual payments worth more than US$141bn, and over 60,000 invoices daily.
Part of its strength is down to its substantial investment of US$20mn a year in innovation and proprietary technologies.
“With continuous investment in innovation and a deep understanding of global markets, we strive to be a trusted partner in driving operational efficiency, fostering supplier relationships, and enabling sustainable growth for our clients worldwide,” says Enrique Rico, global head of trade and working capital at Santander.
Santander has partnered with enterprise software firm SAP with the aim of enhancing digitalisation in global transaction banking.
Through the collaboration, Santander can integrate SCF services directly within clients’ SAP enterprise resource planning systems.
For example, Santander secured a €1bn SCF facility for a leading European technology, media and telecommunications company.
Using “SAP integration, multi-bank functionality and tailored solutions”, the programme optimises liquidity management and operational efficiency.
The bank has also set up a US$2bn global SCF programme for a major agro-chemical company across 10 countries. Santander manages US$17bn in payments for more than 500 suppliers.
Santander has also made strides with sustainability-linked SCF. In Brazil, it combined ESG structuring with advanced financing tools to incentivise sustainable practices in the value chain of a renewable energy firm.
“Our fully integrated platforms, powered by partnerships like the one with SAP, allow us to deliver seamless, scalable solutions that optimise working capital, streamline payment processes, and maximise liquidity utilisation,” says Rico.
Best commodity trade finance bank: Société Générale
Winning in this category for another year, Société Générale has maintained its role as a major player in commodities financing.
It has weathered a very unpredictable pricing environment and focused largely on preserving strength in specific sectors and pushing ahead with strategic shifts.
The bank secured a 3% increase in metals exposure “despite a relatively stable market and modest year-end growth in Chinese demand”, while soft commodities exposure rose by 7% amid “an extremely volatile market in 2024”.
Société Générale says it continued to support established lines of financing while also working to bring to market new solutions and gain new clients.
A particular focus has been on shifting its portfolio towards a more sustainable and less carbon-intensive mix, says Alexis Christodoulou, global head of trade and sustainable commodity finance at the bank.
“A significant push was granted in further developing the metals portfolio, especially the energy transition-related metals, as well as soft commodities,” says Christodoulou.
“Efforts were also deployed in the energy sector towards more green clients or even more green transactions with existing clients.”
Examples include playing a lead role in creating “unique and innovative ESG KPIs” for a market-first borrowing base facility dedicated to cobalt for IXM.
Société Générale also coordinated new bank facilities for Aluminium Dunkerque, including interest rate benefits linked to client environmental performance, particularly in terms of reducing carbon emissions and water consumption.
“What is remarkable though is the increased ESG maturity in the commodities sector that can be seen by the sustainability reports of those clients, as well as from their further investments in the green energy, renewables and traceability,” Christodoulou says.
Best export finance bank: Santander
Santander continued to demonstrate its leadership in export finance in 2024, with transaction volumes reaching approximately US$12.26bn across 68 transactions in more than 30 countries.
The bank’s expertise enabled clients such as BGK, Acciona, MSC and SK Hynix to execute differentiated transactions, strengthening their competitive edge across sectors including defence, renewables, shipping, energy and industrial equipment technology.
Notably, Santander and South Korea’s export credit agency (ECA) K-Sure expanded the eligibility of the project pooling line to include private companies, contributing further to market innovation.
The bank also played a pivotal role in developing short-term global trade receivables securitisation, with ECAs indemnifying financial institutions against payment defaults on trade receivables.
On the sustainability front, Santander became the first bank to sign a green guarantee framework from Kuke, the Polish ECA, supporting investments via corporate lending and project finance.
Elsewhere, the ECA investment programme mandate for the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) – Mexico’s state-owned electric utility – is the country’s largest export finance mandate.
Through the mandate, Santander coordinated 14 major investment projects, spanning hydroelectric, photovoltaic, hydrogen and combined cycle energy.
The bank acted as global coordinator, advisor and mandated lead arranger, structuring financing with seven equipment suppliers and seven ECAs.
Santander also acted as global coordinator, mandated lead arranger and lender for a first-loss first demand guarantee issued by the Inter-American Development Bank for the Bahamas.
More than 21% of 2024 ECA transactions aligned with the bank’s sustainable finance and investment classification system. As of September 2024, it had financed or mobilised €29.7bn in green finance, achieving its 2025 target.
Best trade finance bank: Citi
Citi set the standard as the leading trade finance bank in 2024, cementing its position as the number one provider of payables finance solutions worldwide for the second year in a row.
With a client base spanning more than 4,500 organisations across over 90 countries, Citi’s reach encompasses all major industries and client segments.
Last year, the bank’s trade and working capital solutions division posted a 5% increase in revenues during the first three quarters, outperforming a largely stagnant market.
Core trade activities flourished, with Citi processing 1.1 million transactions, up 24% year on year.
Citi’s commitment to sustainability was underscored by its sustainable trade loan book, which exceeded US$1bn in 2024 and made progress towards its ambitious target of providing US$1tn in sustainable finance by 2030.
Its payables finance platform facilitated over US$280bn in annual payment flows, with volumes rising 3% year on year.
Noteworthy among Citi’s sustainability-driven transactions is the bank’s structuring of a US$50mn sustainability-linked loan for Banco do Brasil, Latin America’s largest public bank.
This first-of-its-kind deal in the region includes KPIs that measure Banco do Brasil’s expansion of credit for sustainable agribusiness operations, and gender and racial diversity in senior leadership positions.
In metals and mining, Citi acted as lender for a US$100mn share of a US$785mn secured borrowing base facility for IXM, combining traditional and commodity trade finance features. The financing supports the movement of goods from Zambia to major African export ports, concluding with sales to eligible global buyers.
Through these transactions, Citi continues to demonstrate its unique cross-border capabilities, leveraging digital platforms and local expertise to support clients’ evolving needs.
