WTO brokers trade finance talks for banks, regulators

(Reuters, Geneva, 18 May 2010) The World Trade Organization hosted a meeting on May 16 to review the recovery of the $10 trillion market in trade finance since the crisis. Sources at the meeting said because trade finance is a low-returns business, it cannot compete with investment banking or forex trading and claimed regulations already make it unprofitable for many big international players, who only stick with it because they need to provide a full range of transaction banking services to their global clients.