Lessons to be Learned from 2011 and Issues to Look out for in 2012

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29 December 2011

By Geoffrey Wynne, partner and head of Trade and Export Finance, SNR Denton UK LLP

2011 will be remembered for many historic events, some affecting trade finance directly and others indirectly. Lessons can be learned from some. The “Arab spring” demonstrated how quickly “good” countries could become “bad” countries and vice versa. Since the affected countries all fell within the emerging markets, there were implications for trade bank finance. At the very least banks need to be alert to the changing regulatory and sanctions environment and how to respond. Apart from the affected countries, emerging markets remain relatively unscathed. This should be positive but other factors mean the unexpected needs to be anticipated.

Nothing could have been more unexpected than the Eurozone crisis and its adverse effect on the availability of bank finance and the trust (or lack of trust) that would then exist between banks. During the year many European banks found it difficult to fund and/or increase their loan book. Banks outside...

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