Europe

HSBC's Commercial Finance arm has expanded its presence in Europe over the past few years, with new offices in the Czech Republic and Poland being their most recent moves. Further market expansion appears to be on the horizon and so Factorscan spoke to HSBC, about their development methodology, the strength conferred by a global brand and why HSBC are sticking to their guns on pricing...

Trade receivables finance has become increasing popular as businesses seek to cope with recessionary pressures, according to a new report from working capital solutions provider Demica.

With the withdrawal of three UK factors from various aspects of the international offering Barclays from import factoring, GMAC from the UK market and Ultimate from international factoring Factorscan asks why the international scene has experienced so many casualties in the downturn and how other European markets and factors have managed to stay buoyant. Factorscan talks to Finn Castella, General Manager and CEO of Nordisk Factoring in Denmark about the impact of the downturn upon international factoring.

Factorscan examines the rapid growth that factors in the Balkans and eastern Europe have managed to achieve in recent years and asks what impact the economic downturn has had upon developments in the region and whether liquidity shortages have played into the hands of the receivables finance industry.

This month Factorscan met with members of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development s (EBRD) Trade Facilitation Programme at the Bank s London headquarters, to discuss how the EBRD has funded its clients through the downturn; its role in supporting the development of financial institutions in eastern Europe; and the eligibility and significance of receivables finance to the bank s funding plans.

Factorscan addresses the efforts of the EBRD s Trade Facilitation Programme to promote receivables finance in eastern Europe and the CIS and looks at what the bank is offering, what problems it faces and how significant a product is for the development of east European economies.

The EIB and UniCredit Group have strengthened their cooperation to implement the Joint Action Plan the largest such move by multilateral lenders in central and eastern Europe

GE Capital have announced the appointment of a new Head of Capital Markets in EMEA

3i Infotech and BCR Publishing hosted a joint seminar on Friday which examined ways of identifying, approaching and dealing with the threat and impact of fraud