The Global Supply Chain Finance Forum – an initiative comprising the ICC Banking Commission, BAFT, EBA, FCI and ITFA – has appointed Christian Hausherr, European Product Head of Supply Chain Finance at Deutsche Bank, as its Chair. The Global Supply Chain Finance Forum was established in 2014 to develop, publish and champion a set of commonly agreed standard market definitions for Supply Chain Finance – releasing theStandard Definitions for Techniques of Supply Chain Finance in 2016.

Hausherr is a recognised expert in the field of SCF and took a leading role in the drafting of the Standard Definitions and the Wolfsberg/ICC/BAFT Trade Finance Principles. He has also been a driving force behind the inclusion of SCF within the scope of the ICC Trade Register – which provides an objective and transparent view of the credit risk profile and characteristics of trade and export finance.

Christian Hausherr comments, “SCF is one of the fastest growing trade products, and while uptake of the Standard Definitions has been promising so far, further work is required to ensure alignment across a complex ecosystem of stakeholders involved in international supply chains. Recent developments in the accounting treatment of some techniques have also underlined this need for engagement, and I am delighted to be leading this important initiative.”

Priorities for the Forum, which convenes at the ICC Banking Commission Technical Meeting in Tbilisi this week, include creating additional guidance on individual techniques, starting with Receivables Discounting and Payables Finance, and engaging with accounting firms and rating agencies to help clarify accounting treatment. Other areas of work under consideration include the production of reliable statistics on SCF and studies on the market’s evolution.