The International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC's) Banking Commission has announced a long-term agreement with Global Credit Data (GCD), to provide more granular data and help extend the coverage of the ICC Trade Register beyond the trade finance products traditionally included in the register such as letters of credit (L/Cs).

The ICC Trade Register aims to provide an objective, transparent view of the credit-related risks and characteristics of trade finance using a data-driven approach.

Credit risk profile

According to an ICC statement, the agreement with credit data collection specialist GCD - an association owned by banks and home of the world's largest database of bank defaults - will strengthen analysis within the ICC Trade Register.

The ICC Trade Register is one of the few comprehensive sources to provide an objective and transparent view of the credit risk profile and characteristics of trade and export finance. GCD will now manage and oversee the collection of credit-related data from ICC Trade Register member banks.

The cooperation will allow ICC and GCD to provide more granular data and detailed benchmarking reports to members the ICC statement said.

Supply chain debut

The ICC Trade Register was established in 2011 and has since grown to include 22 member banks, covering over US$10.5 trillion of exposures and more than 20 million trade finance transactions. The trade finance products included in the register have traditionally been L/Cs, loans for import and export and performance guarantees.

The next edition, to be released in the first quarter of 2019, with Boston Consulting Group as a strategic partner, will expand to include supply chain finance products and export finance provided by non-OECD export credit agencies. Data collection for the report will begin in October 2018.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.