Monday, 3 April 2017

CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE - Sean Edwards, ITFA Chairman / Head of Legal at SMBC

Dear Members and Friends,

I write this message to you the day after the UK has served it “divorce notice” on the European Union and the process of Brexit negotiations formally starts. Putting aside the emotions many of us will feel at this moment, personally and professionally, those affected by this decision must now focus on the outcome for trade between the UK and the world’s richest political bloc, hoping that the “deep and special relationship” trumpeted in Theresa May’s letter will indeed come to pass.  At the very least, we can rest assured that our markets are global and not regional, so we will have a job even if we end it doing it out of Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris…(I am, of course, being mischievous).

And in those emerging markets that we rely on, the positive momentum witnessed in the first months of the year rippled into the month of March as the pick-up in global economic activity in the developed and emerging economies spurred demand for EM assets. Trade activity picked up as did inflationary data points across selective emerging market economies whilst investor appetite improved on the back of a marked weaker US dollar. Emerging Markets were unshaken by the rate hike by the US Federal Reserve earlier on in the month, as this move was pretty much priced in, whilst the weakness in the US dollar towards the end of the month over failed healthcare negotiations pushed EM higher.

In the April edition of the ITFA Newsletter you will find a stimulating article written by James Knightley, ING ‘’Brexit Begins: What to expect from the economy & politics over the next 2 years’’. You will also find our regular feature - Chart of the Month - April 2017, contributed by Dr. Rebecca Harding of Equant Analytics. ITFA is delighted to announce its new members for the month. A big welcome to them as they join our expanding organisation.

As we have previously announced, ITFA is proud to bring you the 44th Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference which will be held in Edinburgh between the 6th and 8th of September 2017. This year we will be greeting you at the Caledonian Hotel, which is situated in the heart of Edinburgh. A networking afternoon with dedicated rooms and a reservation portal to book meetings with all conference delegates will take place on the second day of the conference. At this point we urge you to Save the Date and to keep following our regular updates. Further details will be available shortly.

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,

Sean Edwards

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