Resilience and developments of factoring in CEE and SEE regions

On Friday, 23 September 2022, FCI, in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), held the latest conference on the resilience and development of factoring in Central and Eastern European (CEE) and Southern and Eastern European (SEE) regions. 

The event was hosted at The Ritz-Carlton in Istanbul, Turkey, the day after the 2022 EBRD Trade Facilitation Program (TFP) Forum. 

This event offered EBRD TFP members, local FCI members, and targeted industry professionals the opportunity to meet, network, and discuss the latest developments in the region. 

Over 100 industry professionals from the region attended and heard about the latest updates and trends for the region from leading industry trailblazers. 

FCI Regional Director CEE, SEE, and the Middle East, Betül Kurtulus, moderated the conference.

FCI’s Secretary General, Peter Mulroy, welcomed participants to the event with his opening remarks and moved on to a presentation on global factoring industry trends with statistics on global volumes, market shares, a breakdown of products, and the comparison to other forms of trade finance. 

Mulroy also highlighted FCI’s activities, public policy and industry advocacy.

Irina Tyan, a principal banker at EBRD TFP Business Leader for Factoring, presented on the EBRD and FCI collaboration in CEE and SEE region. 

In the presentation, Tyan highlighted TFP Statistics, how it works, TFP Factoring, how EBRD plays a part, and products that the EBRD TFP offers, including training and events.

Before the coffee break, event participants listened to a panel discussion on export resilience in an environment of heightened geopolitical risk and the success story of Turkey.

The panel included; Cagatay Baydar, chairman of TEB Factoring and vice-chairman of FCI; Ahmet Albayrak, deputy CEO, treasury and international banking at Kuveyt Türk Katilim Bankasi; and Nana Khurodze, associate director, senior banker at EBRD TFP. The panel was moderated by Michael Bickers, managing director of BCR Publishing. 

After the panel introduction, Cagatay explored statistics of the industry, highlighting Turkey’s positions. 

Following this, all the participants returned for a panel discussion on digital transformation in receivables finance with; Filiz Unal, deputy secretary general, factoring at The Financial Institutions Association; Koray Kaya, deputy general manager at KKB and Findeks, business management department; and Ana Kavtaradze, strategic business development advisor at BasisBank. The panel was moderated by Deepesh Patel, director of partnership and marketing at Trade Finance Global (TFG). 

Filiz prepared the panel with a short presentation on the digital transformation of the finance sector in Turkey, highlighting regulatory updates, future plans and new technologies available.

William Brydie-Watson, senior legal officer at UNIDROIT addressed attendees on the factoring model law (FML). 

The FML was first initiated in 2018 by World Bank representatives who recognised the importance of a standalone model law on factoring, especially for emerging markets considering introducing factoring in their countries. 

Brydie-Watson shared updates on where the project is currently, highlighting that it is under review by industry players, including FCI members. 

Tim Moran, Chicago mercantile exchange (CME) term secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) consultant at CME Group, spoke about the LIBOR transition. 

In a video presentation, Tim shared the update on the USD market, and new developments in trade finance and explained the LIBOR transition in the Eurozone. 

FCI’s Education Director Aysen Cetintas shared information on the FCI Academy and its work. 

Following this, Peter Mulroy closed the event with his closing remarks. 

Kurtulus said, ‘’After two days of the EBRD TPF conference, we hosted EBRD TFP participants, FCI Turkish members, the BRSA, the Financial Institutions Association, and our business partners in İstanbul. 

“We shared the latest developments in CEE and SEE countries, which have a significant place in FCI with their export-based growth model as a region. 

“It was great to see and host old and new friends.”

This event was the perfect display of the three major areas of activities that FCI focus on; connect, educated, and influence.