"The sum of the whole should be greater than the sum of its parts.”

 “Too big to fail” – not any more!  Lehman’s plight has changed the face of the global banking industry. Banks, however big or small, are having to reinvent themselves to overcome their public image, rein in costs, add new revenue streams or protect their balance sheets. Banking has become so complex and yet so fragmented that rarely does any individual or committee understand the full implications of - or the linkages between - the diverse product streams at their disposal. This is especially true where Trade Finance and Commodity Finance are concerned.

We can help.

Our strength is understanding banking from the bottom up. We have the knowledge and experience to provide constructive challenge and to forge a different way of thinking to help develop lending organisations that can positively differentiate themselves, create genuine stakeholder value and be sustainable in an ever-changing world. Success today is not just about "doing things right" but about "doing the right things".

Why does this matter for Trade Finance?

​When the banking industry falters, Trade suffers. A funding gap of $1.6 trillion has emerged in recent years between what importers/exporters need to fund trade and what the traditional banking industry can provide. Alternative sources are emerging but they remain mostly in their infancy. Bankingwise works to promote an understanding of trade for both traditional funding sources and to support new lenders and investors, with a view to fostering a well-informed, stable and reliable Trade & Commodity Finance environment (which embraces Structured Trade Finance and Export Finance).

An Holistic Approach

"Holistic" means that we look at all the bits of a jigsaw that make up a business, from its internal and external environments, to see how they fit with each other.  Do they support or frustrate the organisation's objectives?  Indeed, are the objectives unequivocally understood?  Are they realistic and achievable? What is the underlying context?

Context is pivotal to ensuring that trading firms and banking businesses don't fall into the trap of simply doing what they see others doing, or trying to apply 'one size fits all' when it clearly doesn't.

It may be that strategy is flawed, or that one or more elements are not yet capable of delivering on it (especially so when Credit Managers are uncomfortable evaluating transactional trade risk). Perhaps market dynamics have changed but the organisation hasn't, or competition is coming from a new and unexpected source? There could be a host of obstacles contributing to under-performance or holding back exceptional performance.

We believe that prevention is better than cure, so we work with clients to avoid potential pitfalls, repair existing ones, and prepare their businesses for a more sustainable future.

Our mission

Bankingwise
​    TRADE & FINANCIAL SERVICES CONSULTANCY

Our philosophy

To challenge and improve the commercial banking industry and alternative credit funds especially with regards to the provision of Trade & Commodity Finance so that viable deals need not be forgone