AFB Seminar: Digitising Global Trade & Supply Chains – The Electronic Trade Documents Act (2023) and the Adoption of Digital Negotiable Instruments

Sullivan & Worcester will present an outline of the ETDA and its key legal principles. The Arqit team will address the practicalities of adopting DNIs and a range of use cases. This will be followed by a Q&A.

Why attend?

A combination of legislative and technological enhancements is helping to drive the much-needed digitalisation of global trade transactions.  DNIs are secure digital forms of well-established, globally recognised instruments of global trade: e.g., Promissory Notes & Bills of Exchange.  They will be an integral part of the forward-thinking corporate treasury toolkit making trade and supply chain finance available to all.

This seminar is an opportunity for AFB member representatives to learn about the following:

1. The UN Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) and the context of global legal reform.
2. The UK’s Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 – key legal principles. 
3. How you can grow and strengthen customer relationships using DNIs.
4. Enhancing your product register and driving operational efficiencies.

What will members gain for use at their bank?

Digital trade documents are being used today. This session seeks to provide the framework, knowledge and direction to use DNIs within Trade Finance and Supply Chain Finance. The aim is to assist member banks in creating a business architecture and technology blueprint to capitalise on the benefits of DNIs, whilst addressing compliance, risk, and operational requirements.

Who should attend?

The seminar is aimed at Legal, Risk, Operations and Trade Product/ Sales teams.

Speakers

Dominic Broom

Dominic Broom is a seasoned fintech and transaction banking executive.  He has worked in financial services for over 30 years, predominantly at global banks such as JPMC, ABN AMRO and BNY Mellon, where he was EMEA Head of Treasury Services from 2011 to 2019.  He specialises in helping businesses optimise their treasury activities. Dominic joined Arqit as SVP Working Capital Technology in early 2022, to lead the development of TradeSecure™, the company’s digital negotiable instrument solution.  He is a board member of the UK’s Institute of Export & International Trade and a former member of the ICC’s Banking Commission.

Simon Cook

Simon Cook is a partner in Sullivan & Worcester’s Trade & Export Finance Group. He has experience in a wide variety of banking and finance transactions, including structured trade finance, trade finance, digitalized/electronic trade finance, commodity finance, project finance, invoice discounting facilities, warehouse finance, supply chain finance, ECA finance and borrowing-base facilities. He has advised on transactions across the emerging markets with particular experience in Africa and in the Middle East, where he was based for four years. A member of ITFA’s Executive Board, in 2021 Simon was appointed its Head of Education. In November 2019, Simon was re-appointed as one of just eight full voting members on the African Regional Committee, of which he was also a founding member in 2017.

Simon is recognised as a Leading Individual in The Legal 500 UK, 2024 for Trade Finance and included in Tier 1 by Chambers UK, 2024 for Commodities: Trade Finance. He is also included in Best Lawyers UK, 2024 for his work in commodities.

Geoff Wynne

Geoff Wynne is head of Sullivan & Worcester’s Trade & Export Finance Group and the firm’s London office. He has extensive experience in banking and finance, specifically in corporate and international finance, trade, structured trade and commodity finance, electronic banking and digitizing trade finance, structured finance, asset and project finance, syndicated lending, equipment leasing, workouts and financing restructuring and general commercial matters. Recognised as one of the leading trade finance lawyers globally, Geoff advises many of the major trade finance banks and financial institutions around the world on trade and commodity transactions in virtually every emerging market including in the CIS, Asia, India, Africa and Latin America.

Logistics

Cost:           Included in AFB membership (no fee)

Location:   In person at New Broad Street House, 35 New Broad Street, London, EC2M 1NH

Date:         Thursday 6 June 2024

Time:        09:00 – 10:30 (arrival and breakfast from 08:30)

If you have any specific questions or areas that you would like the session to address, please email secretariat@foreignbanks.org.uk You will receive the joining instructions for this in-person seminar a week before the event.