Category: Trade Finance Basics

Sean Edwards is Head of Legal and Special Adviser to the Trade Finance Department at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe. Since 2015 he has also been the Chairman of the International Trade & Forfaiting Association (ITFA), which represents the interests of banks, financial institutions, insurers and service providers involved in trade risk and asset origination and distribution.

In this interview he talks about ITFA’s evolution and its Emerging Leaders programme, and why he believes that a career in trade finance is a lot more creative than it used to be.

“Trade finance is fun, it’s exciting, and, most importantly, it’s real. That’s the message to anyone who’s thinking about making this their profession.”

With a career in trade finance dating back to the late 1980s, Geoff Wynne, partner at law firm Sullivan in London, seemed a credible source to outline what trade finance is, how it works, and why its wide range of products and processes make it a rewarding and enjoyable industry to work in.