MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN - Paolo Provera, Chairman ITFA / General Manager ABC International Bank Plc, Milan Branch

Dear Members and Friends,

With the first month of 2015 already behind us, it is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I am writing this second newsletter of the year, as I am sure that the first half of 2015 will not only bring new challenges but will also provide us with a number of opportunities. 

As you are well aware, a number of ITFA delegates and members participated in last week’s GTR Mena Trade Finance Week which was held from 16th to 18th February, in Dubai. I am pleased to announce that this was yet another extremely fruitful event whereby our members had the opportunity to network with their fellow colleagues within the trade and forfaiting industry, and share their knowledge and experiences with local professionals.

This event was followed by the ITFA Cocktail Party which was a huge success as almost 150 attendees were able to enjoy some very good networking with Banks in the GCC region. On behalf of ITFA, I would like to thank all those members who attended and made this event possible, and I look forward to meeting other members at our future events. Please visit link to view pictures of the event.

As discussed during the cocktail, ITFA will be holding its Annual Conference in Dubai, at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, between the 28th and 30th of September. As per previous years, this event remains the perfect meeting place for institutions and companies alike, willing to establish new business relations, as well as consolidating the current ones. Thus we urge you to save the date. More details about the event will be provided in due course.

ITFA will continue to seek more opportunities to bring its members together through the organisation and attendance of educational courses and conferences. To this effect ITFA will also be present at this year’s GTR Africa Trade Finance Week 2015, which will be held in Cape Town between the 11th and 13th of March. For further information on this collaboration, please click here. We encourage our members to continue registering to and supporting these events, and of course wishing you luck for any free passes you might get as ITFA members.

On behalf of the Board, we will continue to strive to expand ITFA by reaching out to as many new members as possible and increasing its prominence, accessibility and visibility throughout the industry. In fact in the last month we are again pleased to announce that another three new members joined our growing family.

We look forward to hearing from you with any feedback you may want to share with us by sending an email to myself, any of the Board Members or to our general email, info@itfa.org.   

Best wishes 
Paolo Provera