Trade Finance Conference Prague 2018

Two days International Workshops on Trade Finance operations with special focus on Documentary Credits, Bank Guarantees and other Trade Finance services.

Best Practices in Practice.

This Seminar is a must for:

• bankers working in trade finance, particularly in documentary credits, collections, bank guarantees and export financing departments;
• front office bank specialists, relationship managers;
• specialists in trade finance, bank risk managers, internal auditors;
• exporters, importers and traders;
• carriers, freight forwarders, insurance companies; 
• lawyers, advocates, academics;

Practical workshop on international best practices in Documentary Credits, explaining current developments and issues related to interpretation of UCP 600 and revised ISBP 745E – the ICC rules for Documentary Credits.

Workshop will also focus on new developments in international Bank Guarantees with particular emphasize on implementation of URDG 758 – ICC Rules for demand guarantees. Significant time will be devoted to operational issues, practical case studies, examples and open discussions on the topics covered.

Many other topics would be also covered, such as information about new development in the digitalization of trade finance, corresponding revisions of ICC rules, Incoterms 2020 revision, etc.

Lunch and coffee breaks will be provided during the Conference.

Seminar Language – English with no translation!

Organizer – ICC CR – reserves the right to adjust the program, if needed.

Programme of the Workshop, 1 October 2018 – the First Day (Monday)

Topic: Documentary Credits, UCP 600 and ISBP 745, Conditions of Credits, Examination of documents, Questions & Answers

08:30 – 09:00 Registration

09:00 – 09:15 Welcome and Opening of the Conference, representatives of ICC CR

09:15 – 10:30 Documentary Credits – update

• News from the recent ICC Banking Commission meeting
• Last Banking Commission Opinions - debate
• eUCP, eURC, revision of the URBPO
• Incoterms 2020 revision

       Main Speaker: Pavel Andrle
       Discussions lead by: Emile Rummens

10:30 – 10:50 Contact break

10:50 - 12:00 Documentary Credits in Practice – experience from the Middle East

• Issues related to conditions of the Credits
• Interesting issues, discussions regarding discrepancies in relation to:
• Commercial documents
• Transport documents
• Insurance Documents
• Questions and Answers

    Main Speaker: Abdulkader A. Bazara
    Discussions lead by: Radek Dobáš

12:00 - 13:30 Lunch

13:30 – 14:00 Documentary Credits: Interesting Court Cases, Disputes

• L/C: Fraud or something else?
• Questions and Answers

    Main Speaker: Vincent O´Brien
    Discussions lead by: Abdulkader A. Bazara

14:00 – 15:00 Documentary Credits: Regulation, Compliance

• L/C (Guarantees): practical experience with sanctions
• EU and US sanctions on Russia & Iran – current situation and practical issues
• Effect of new sanctions on the pending L/Cs, Guarantees
• L/C fraud – B/L issued by NVOCC
• Docdex case on “revocation due to operational error”
• Basel III and IV – impact on trade finance
• Questions and Answers 

    Main Speaker: Emile Rummens
    Discussions lead by: Abdulkader A. Bazara

15:00 - 15:20 Contact break

15:20 – 16:10 Documentary Credits – Examination of documents as per UCP 600 and ISBP 745

• Various issues related to examination of documents examination
• Questions and Answers

    Main Speaker: Radek Dobáš
    Discussions lead by: Vincent O´Brien

16:10 – 16:30 Digitalization of Trade Finance – Blockchain – view of an experienced international banker

• What is it all about?
• What can we expect from the blockchain technology in the near future?
• Where are we now? 
• Questions and Answers 

    Main Speaker: Emile Rummens
    Discussions lead by: Vincent O´Brien

16:30 – 17:00 Financing – Forfaiting of L/C and other receivables in practice

• Interesting issues, cases regarding forfaiting
• Current developments
• Questions and Answers 

Main Speaker: Milan Figala
Discussions lead by: Pavel Andrle

17:00 – 18:30 Closing remarks & coctail

Programme of the Workshop, 2 October 2018 – the Second Day (Tuesday)

09:00 – 09:45 Demand Guarantees – update

• News from the recent ICC Banking Commission meeting
• Development of ISDGP - debate
• Results of questionnaire on use of URDG 758

    Main Speaker: Pavel Andrle
    Discussions lead by: Abdulkader A. Bazara

09:45 - 10:15 Bank Guarantees, ICC Rules for Demand Guarantees – URDG 758

• Proper wording v. mistakes in practice
• Effectiveness clauses, reduction, termination clauses
• Demands under demand guarantees
• Advanced situations – Extend or Pay demands

Main Speaker: Pavel Andrle
Discussions lead by: Emile Rummens

10:15 - 10:30 Pitfalls of using UCP 600 for standby letters of credit 

    Main Speaker: Emile Rummens
    Discussions lead by: Vincent O´Brien

10:30 – 10:50 Tea / Coffee Break

10:50 - 12:00 Demand Guarantees in Middle East – practical experience

• Issues regarding wording 
• Direct and local guarantees in Middle East
• Extend or Pay in practice
• Demands under demand guarantees
• Case Studies, Examples

    Main Speaker: Abdulkader A. Bazara
    Discussions lead by: Vincent O´Brien

12:00 - 13:30 Lunch

13:30 - 14:15 Demand Guarantees in UAE – practical experience

• Issues regarding wording 
• Case Studies, Examples

    Main Speaker: Vincent O´Brien
    Discussions lead by: Abdulkader A. Bazara

14:15 - 15:00 Demand Guarantees – URDG 758

• Experience from the Global - European Bank
• Main current issues related to Guarantees and Counter-guarantees 
• Injunctions - experience
• Case Studies, Examples

    Main Speaker: Emile Rummens
    Discussions lead by: Pavel Andrle

15:00 - 15:20 Tea / Coffee Break

15:20 - 16:00 Demand Guarantees – Regulation issues

• Various issues, art. 55 of BRRD
• Effect of new sanctions on pending Guarantees
• Examples

    Main Speaker: Emile Rummens
    Discussions lead by: Abdulkader A. Bazara

16:00 – 16:30 Closing remarks & Closing Ceremony

Suggested speakers:

 Pavel Andrle

Mr. Andrle, BSc., LL.M is a Secretary to the Banking Commission of ICC Czech Republic which he regularly represents at the ICC Banking Commission meetings abroad. He chaired the working groups of ICC CR which revised translations of UCP 500, UCP 600, eUCP, ISP98, URDG 758 and other Banking Commission documents as well as Incoterms 2010 into Czech language. He has been deeply involved in the revision of UCP as a member of UCP 600 Consulting group being formed by over forty experts from all over the world.

He was involved in development of URBPO as a member of the ICC Banking Commission Consulting group on BPO. Nowadays, he is a member of ICC Task Force on Guarantees, also a member of the new ICC Banking Commission Consulting group for Forfaiting (which developed the new ICC rules for Forfaiting in cooperation with former IFA, today´s ITFA). In years 2010-2011 he also served as a member of the ICC Banking Commission Group of Experts which drafted the official ICC Banking Commission Opinions on ICC Rules.

Nowadays, he is also an international trade finance consultant and lecturer. He has conducted trainings and consultancy services in more than 55 countries of the world.

He wrote very successful book on“Examination of documents under Documentary Credits”.

 Abdulkader A. Bazara

Mr. Abdulkader Bazara, formerly a banker, is a consultant at Creative Trade Solutions FZE, a company registered at Ras Al-Khaima Economic Zone, Ras Al Khaima, UAE. Abdulkader is based in Abu Dhabi. He has 38 years of experience in banking, mainly in trade finance, both conventional and Islamic structures. He has worked as Trade Operations Head, Trade Product Management Head, Trade Sales Head and Trade Finance Structuring Head.

He is a member of the Middle East Advisory Group for the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, a member of Council on International Standby Practice (CISP), a member of Editorial Advisory Board of Documentary Credit World (DCW) publication, member of Trade Services Update (TSU) Country Editors and member of the steering committee for ICC-UAE commission on banking.

 Vincent O´Brien

Vincent ‘Vin’ O’Brien is Member Executive Committee of ICC Banking Commission and Chair of ICC Banking Commission, Market Intelligence Group. He has been actively involved in trade finance for more than a quarter of a century and has delivered technical trade finance assistance in more than 100 countries.

Vincent’s primary activity is trade facilitation with the major Multilateral Development Banks and his recognized specialty is trade related dispute resolution where he often acts as Expert Witness in Trade Disputes and Legal Cases. Vincent also holds the position of the Associate Director of the Institute of International Banking Law and Practice (IIBLP).

 Emile Rummens

Emile Rummens is Senior Risk Manager of Group Trade Finance of KBC Group, headquartered in Brussels. As such he is in charge for risk monitoring, technical advice, sanctions and compliance matters etc for Trade Finance in KBC Belgium, the Czech and Slovak republic (CSOB) and Hungary ( K&H).

Since more than 35 years he fulfilled all possible jobs in the domain of trade finance : L/C’s, bank guarantees, export credits on short or long term, commercial tasks, compliance, embargoes, Basel rulings, all ICC matters etc. Since many years he is active in different Trade Finance organizations such as the ICC Banking Commission, the ICC Working group on guarantees,the ICC Working Group for advocacy, the European Bankers Federation, the bankers association Febelfin, Credimpex Belgium, a forum for LC matters,etc. He’s Board member of ICC Belgium.

 Radek Dobáš

In 1995 he started his professional career in the International Department of Creditanstalt, a.s. (later Bank Austria Creditanstalt, a.s.) in Praha as a documentary business specialist and in 1999 he was appointed head of the documentary business team. He then joined Česká spořitelna, a.s. in 2001 to become documentary business specialist of Trade Finance Department, heading the team since 2003.

Radek has been a member of the ICC Banking Commission since 2002. He participates not only in the commission's regular work (e.g. reviewing and commenting ICC documents), but also by giving lectures and joining panels at the seminars held by ICC Czech Republic. As a part of the activities within the ICC Czech Republic he was a member of working groups engaged in translations of ICC documents into Czech language (both UCP 500 and UCP 600, and also ISP 98) and commenting the bill of the Czech Civic Code (with respect to documentary-credit and collection contracts). As a member of the ISBP Consulting Group he actively took part in the ISBP revision resulting in Publication 745. As a DOCDEX Expert he participates in ICC dispute resolution services.

 Milan Figala

Milan is currently heading the Documentary Payments department of Komerční banka, a.s. Before joining the Forfaiting industry in 1996 Milan spent years with a trading house exporting machinery labelled ”Made in Czechoslovakia“ worldwide. The former experience on the Exporter’s side of business proved an advantage when consequently structuring forfaiting transactions. 

During his career Milan headed the Membership and Market Practice Committee of the Central and Eastern European Regional Committee of the International Trade and Forfaiting Association and still maintains a close relationship to the major regional players. 

Event registration fees:

12.900,- Kč incl. 21localhost VAT per person / 550 € incl. 21localhost VAT per person

• Standard discounts applicable for members off the ICC Czech Republic.
• Registration for the event is binding, no refund.

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