DC Insight

In a time of financial turmoil, with banks and major corporations failing and with some shippers having difficulty obtaining L/Cs, it's natural that in this issue of DCInsight we run several articles dealing with the state of trade finance and how some actors in the market are responding to it. In our lead article, Mark Ford assesses the state of the market and whether Obama's new team is likely to revitalize it. In a special section, we look at how the IFC's Global Trade Finance Program is keeping trade finance flowing to developing countries at a time of drastic changes in market conditions. And in the same section, Michael Quinn examines supply chain financing and how it can, given proper international standards, help to alleviate some of the uncertainties associated with documentary trade.

This is an ongoing story and, in keeping with DCInsight's tradition of staying on top of breaking news, readers can expect more in-depth reporting on it.

We also continue our assessment of UCP 600 one year on. In Expert commentary, Mohammad Burjaq recounts some of the redundant terms still being employed by some bankers and practitioners in their credits despite clear language in the new UCP rendering these terms superfluous. This is the other side of the coin from the thoughtless exclusion of UCP articles by some practitioners.

The Insight interview continues our coverage of the revision of ICC's Uniform Rules of Demand Guarantees (URDG). Our interviewee, Professor Sir Roy Goode, one of the fathers of the original URDG, explains why the revision may be ready for a vote in May 2009.