ICC Global Banking Commission Meeting | 09-11 November 2026

Day 1 –

Member’s Working Groups, Technical opinions & Rule Developments
Location: JP Morgan, 25 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5JP (Members-only)
Hybrid

Morning Working Groups Sessions – Restricted to group members

Registration

Working Group A – Technical Advisors (TA) briefing group

or

Working Group B – Financial Crimes & Risks

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Working Group C – Guarantees

or

Working Group D – Export Finance

Working Group E – Legal Committee

or

Working Group F – Commercialisation – KTDDE 

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Working Group G – Regulatory Advocacy

or

Working Group H – Global Supply Chain Finance Forum (GSCFF)

Afternoon registration, lunch break & networking

ICC National Committees Forum

Coffee & networking break 

Technical opinions & rule developments 

Hybrid

This session will provide the latest insights into the development of trade finance rules, promote international best practice and address the latest disputes.

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Day 2

Plenary
Location: Mansion House, Walbrook, London EC4N 8BH
In-person only

Registration & networking breakfast

Welcome remarks

Speaker: Emma Bennett Interim Secretary General, ICC United Kingdom

Opening remarks: Global trade finance priorities

Speaker: Florian Witt, Chair, ICC Banking Commission and Managing Director Divisional Head, International Banking and Corporate Banking; Member of the Group Business Executive Committee, ODDO BHF

Keynote: Going for growth – creating agile economies

Speaker: TBA

The Global Trade Finance Gap & Regulatory Treatment of Trade Finance

Closing the global trade finance gap requires coordinated action across public institutions, private finance, development actors, and policymakers. This strategic session will explore how cooperation across these stakeholders can be strengthened to deliver systemic impact, in the context of a rapidly evolving regulatory environment with implications for competitiveness, capital allocation, and access to finance. 

The discussion will address how MDBs, international organisations, and the private sector can better align mandates, tools, and capital, alongside the role of policy reform, risk sharing instruments, and capacity building in expanding access to trade finance. It will also bring regional perspectives on constraints and solutions, with insights from emerging and developing markets, and examine how ICC, as the representative of the private sector, can act as a neutral convenor and connector, linking global policy dialogue with market practice. 

Drawing on empirical evidence, including insights from the ICC Global Trade Intelligence Report and cooperation efforts, the session will highlight how more risk-sensitive and proportionate regulation can be supported by robust data, including a showcase of the 2026 report. 

The session aims to identify concrete areas for collaboration and advance a coordinated response to the trade finance gap. 

Moderator: Florian Witt, Chair, ICC Banking Commission and Managing Director Divisional Head, International Banking and Corporate Banking; Member of the Group Business Executive Committee, ODDO BHF

Panellists:
Makiko Toyoda, Global Head, Global Trade Finance Programme & Global Supply Chain Finance Programme, International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Shona Tatchell, Director, Trade Facilitation Programme, Financial Institutions, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Parvaiz Dalal, Global Head Payables Finance, Citi Bank and Chair of ICC United Kingdom Trade Finance Committee

Marc Auboin, Chief, Trade and Macro-Finance, World Trade Organization

Platinum sponsor keynote
Speaker: Vivek Ramachandran, Head of Global Trade Solutions, HSBC

Coffee & networking break

Financing Trade Resilience: Navigating Geopolitics and Supply Chain Risk

In an increasingly fragmented and uncertain global environment, trade resilience has become a core strategic and financial priority for banks, corporates, and policymakers. Geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and shifting trade patterns are reshaping how trade is structured, priced, and financed. 

This session will examine how leading corporates are redefining supply chain resilience, and what this means for the demand and structuring of trade finance. It will also explore how banks and capital markets are adapting their products and capital allocation to support evolving supply chain configurations. 

Particular attention will be given to the implications of geopolitical chokepoints, including the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and around Chinese Taipei, and how these risks are being assessed, mitigated, and priced within trade finance frameworks. 

The discussion will consider what role governments should play, and where they should step back. 

Bringing together perspectives from banking, academia, and industry, the session will assess whether resilience can become a source of competitive advantage.  

Moderator: Deepesh Patel, Managing Director and Editor in Chief, Trade Treasury Payments

Panellists:

Sam Lowe, Partner, Trade and Market Access, Flint Global; Associate Fellow, Chatham House

Jaya Vohra, Managing Director, Global Head of Trade & Working Capital & Transaction Banking Account Management, Barclays

Gerardo Gutierrez-Olvera Cabrales, Executive Director, Head of Trade Finance & International Business, Grupo Financiero Banorte

Stéphane Graber, Director General, International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA)

Frederick Rugginz, Global Head of Financial Institutions Trade Sales, J.P.Morgan

Fireside Chat

This session will be an opportunity to discuss board room priorities.

Lunch & networking break

Keynote: Dame Susan Langley DBE, Lady Mayor of the City of London

A New Operating System for Global Trade

As trade finance continues its digital transformation, new technologies such as stablecoins and tokenised settlement are beginning to reshape how trade is financed and settled. At the same time, the adoption of ICC electronic rules and digital standards is critical to ensuring interoperability, legal certainty, and scalability across markets. 

This session will explore whether these emerging solutions address genuine commercial needs, and which trade finance products are most likely to be transformed first. It will examine the potential impact of tokenisation on liquidity, collateral, and working capital management, as well as its role in expanding access to trade finance, particularly in emerging markets. 

The discussion will also assess progress in the adoption of ICC frameworks, including eUCP, URDTT, and API standards. Drawing on lessons from early movers, the session will highlight practical adoption barriers and the technical, legal, operational, and regulatory requirements needed to move from pilot projects to scalable solutions, while clarifying the evolving role of banks in a tokenised trade ecosystem. 

Moderator: Merlin Dowse, Co-Chair of the ICC Digital Trade Finance Standards & Adoption Working Group; Director: Senior Product Manager Trade & SCF, CGI

Coffee & networking break

Legal Committee presentation of the Status of Ladings global survey 

A snapshot of the extent of ICC Global Banking Commission reach and guidance.   

The Legal Committee will present a thorough analysis of the different status of bills of lading by jurisdiction.  

Presentation: 

• Georges Affaki, Professor, Partner, AFFAKI, Chair ICC Legal Committee 

• Christian Bergeron, Executive Director & Assistant General Counsel, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Member of ICC Legal Committee 

Strategic Debate & Resolution Session: Shaping the Future of Trade Finance – From Discussion to Action

This dedicated strategic session will bring together Banking Commission members and ICC National Committees to examine the key opportunities and challenges shaping the future of trade and trade finance. Through a series of focused discussions, participants will consider where ICC can have the greatest impact, where collective industry action is most needed, and how the Commission can best support members in an evolving trade environment.

Each discussion will conclude with a proposed resolution aimed at providing clear direction for future Banking Commission activities, policy engagement, industry advocacy, standard-setting and member collaboration.

Moderators:

• Merlin Dowse, Director – Senior Product Manager Trade & SCF, CGI
• Samuel Mathew, Global Head, Documentary Trade, Standard Chartered
• Surath Sengupta, Global Head of Trade, Lloyds

Global Policy Outlook and Priorities

Andrew Wilson, Deputy Secretary General (Policy), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

Handover – ICC Banking Commission, March 2027

Speaker: Vincent O’Brien, Director, ICC UAE

Reception drinks & networking

• Speaker: Lord Karan Bilimoria, Opening Remarks

Day 3 – 

From Infrastructure to Impact: Scaling Digital Trade Finance in Emerging Markets 
Location: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), 5 Bank St, Canary Wharf Estate, London E14 4BG
In-person only

Registration & Networking Breakfast

Welcome

Opening the day by setting out the ambition  for Day 3, building on the strategic discussions from the Banking Commission and moving towards practical solutions that can be implemented and scaled across emerging and frontier markets.

Parvaiz Dalal, Chair, ICC United Kingdom Trade Finance Committee

Keynote: Why Does Digital Trade Matter for Emerging Markets, and What Role Should MDBs Play?

This keynote will explore how changing trade patterns, new trade corridors and evolving payment and financial systems are reshaping the trade finance landscape.

Francis Malige, Managing Director, Head of Financial Institutions Business Group, EBRD

Moving Beyond Fragmentation: Making Digital Trade Interoperable at Scale

Digital trade faces a conundrum:  even as technology provides more solutions to standards alignment, digital identities, trusted data sharing, there is still persistent fragmentation across systems, networks and platforms, which are continuing to constrain adoption at scale.

This session will explore the next phase of the digital trade agenda, including ICC DSI’s pivot towards a new operating model. The session will consider how industry, international organisations and technology providers can work together to rethink the current approach to trade record interoperability, with the goal of system wide scaling towards 2030.

Remembrance Day: Two-Minute Silence 

Coffee & networking break

Fireside Chat: Connecting Digital Trade at the Border: The Customs Perspective

Digital trade cannot scale through banks, corporates and technology platforms alone. Customs administrations and other border agencies are critical parts of the digital trade ecosystem, and interoperability between public and private systems will ultimately determine whether digital trade can operate seamlessly across borders.

This conversation will explore the evolution of digital Customs, international standards and data interoperability; what Customs administrations need from the private sector; and how emerging markets can modernise border processes without creating new layers of fragmentation.

It will also consider how international organisations, governments and industry can work together to ensure that digital trade infrastructure is practical, interoperable and accessible across markets at very different stages of digital development.

Digital Trade in Action: From Successful Transactions to System-Wide Scale

The session will test whether successful initiatives can move beyond individual transactions and leading companies towards infrastructure and models that EBRD partner banks, other MDBs and market participants can replicate.

Lunch & networking break

Fireside Conversation: Beyond the Hype – What Will New Financial Technologies Actually Change for Trade?

Digital assets, stablecoins, tokenisation, digital money and AI are attracting considerable attention across financial markets. But which developments could genuinely change the economics of cross-border trade?

Building on discussions from Day 2 on emerging technologies, this conversation will look ahead to where innovation could reduce the cost and complexity of moving money and information across borders, improve access for smaller businesses and emerging markets, and create new models of trade and trade finance.

From Digital Trade to Financial Inclusion: Who Gets Financed?

Digitalisation should do more than make existing trade transactions faster. The real test is whether better data, greater transparency and lower transaction costs enable financial institutions to finance businesses and transactions they could not economically serve before.

This session will examine what happens after trade becomes digital.

If an SME or corporate can provide trusted digital invoices, logistics information, transaction histories and electronic trade documents, does that actually change a financing decision?

Bringing together perspectives of emerging-market financial institutions, international organisations, banks, alternative finance providers and businesses, this session will identify where digitalisation can genuinely broaden access to working capital, and where structural barriers remain.

Next Steps and Action: From Infrastructure to Impact – Priorities for Scale

Drawing together the practical insights from across the day, the closing remarks will identify the priorities for moving from successful initiatives towards adoption at scale across emerging markets.

Closing remarks

Tomasch Kubiak, Policy Manager, ICC Banking Commission