Improved trade financing vital for business development

Keystone Bank Limited, one of the recently constituted bridge banks, on Thursday stressed the importance of improved trade financing for both local and international businesses operating in the country.The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Oti Ikomi, in a statement on the maiden edition of "Trade Business Forum on International Trade", organised by the bank, stated that developments in the banking sector and the lingering financial crisis called for measures that would guarantee successful trade financing.He stressed that though there had been several efforts by governments and world bodies to develop trade, not much had been achieved in that direction.He said, "If banks do not drive the modernisation of trade, who will' New trade patterns will lead to new financial instruments and new ways of adding value to customers. We need to find a way to bring these advantages more to our middle market clients. "We believe that greater collaboration among all the elements in the supply chain, banks, financiers, regulators, Central Bank of Nigeria and others will enhance trade modernisation and facilitation."The Deposit Money Bank boss said several measures had been put in place by the DMB to enhance the efficiency of its customers involved in trading, adding that the bank was prepared to assist the customers with the needed funds to facilitate their businesses.Part of the measures, according to him, include launching of an integrated trade portal solution, where importers of goods could leverage the banks platform to initiate their trade transactions, such as form M, foreign exchange purchase and shipping documents processing, among others.He noted that the bank was involved in running a comprehensive trade sales training programme for the sales team, operations, and support and risk managers of the bank nationwide."For us, banking is about adding value to customers. We are continually challenging our capacity to increase customers financial options in a bid to create better solutions for everyone, and this would continue," he said.He added that the motive behind inviting all stakeholders, such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Customs Service and Cotecna, a Destination Inspection service provider, to be part of the forum, was to ensure that the disjointed and inefficient landscape was addressed in a holistic manner for the benefit of the banks customers.
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