Jenny Messenger

BB Energy has inked a one year, US$272.5mn “flagship” revolving credit facility with a number of international banks. The facility has an accordion option of US$400mn and a one-year optional extension. It will be used to refinance a maturing facility signed in July 2025, as well as for general corporate purposes, the commodities trading firm…

A consortium of firms is set to trial solutions using electronic bills of lading (eBLs), a digital pound and stablecoins to improve SME access to trade finance, as part of the Bank of England’s Digital Pound Lab. Nobo Finance, Dun & Bradstreet and Polygon Labs will participate in phase two of the Digital Pound Lab, described as “an experimental platform” that creates a “simulated environment to test the potential capabilities of a digital pound”. One workstream will test whether stablecoins and a digital pound can enable “near-instant”…

Standard Bank CIB has provided a US$29mn social documentary credit facility to telecommunications tower firm Helios Towers, marking a sustainability first for the lender. Helios Towers builds, acquires and operates shared telecommunications towers across Africa, enabling mobile network operators to extend their coverage on the continent. The new facility will allow Helios Towers to…

Credit and political risk insurance broker Texel Group has signed a co-operation agreement with Marubeni Safenet, an in-house insurance agency for a major Japanese trading company. Texel said the agreement would strengthen its support of clients and insurers in Japan, adding that the nation was “one of Asia’s largest and most sophisticated financial and credit…

Iraq’s Al Mansour Bank for Investment (MBI) has secured a €65mn trade finance facility with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). MBI, which was launched in 2006 and is majority owned by Qatar National Bank Group, aims to use the funds to expand its trade finance business and boost its correspondent banking network.…

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has launched a captive insurance company, which it says will expand its infrastructure financing across the continent. Bermuda-based AFC Captive is backed by up to US$30mn in equity capital and will start by insuring AFC loans extended to its counterparties. “This will enable the corporation to manage and retain risk…

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has loaned up to €25mn to an agri commodity trader based in Kazakhstan to improve sustainable farming practices. TradeAgra, part of major commodity trading house TBF Holding Group, will use the financing to boost its output of organic agricultural crops, help improve soil health and lower…

Fintech LuminaPro Limited has launched its first product, a regulatory technology solution designed to help banks operating in the EU assess sustainability credentials at the point of loan origination. The AI-enabled product will address the requirements of the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) ESG Risk Guidelines, which came into force on January 11 this year.…

Greenhouse gas emissions linked to international trade now total more than 20% of the world’s emissions, equivalent to those of the EU, the US and Brazil combined, fresh data has revealed. The traded emissions tracker, created by the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and climate consultancy Matière, found that trade-related emissions have grown 10 percentage points…

As corporates look to separate AI hype from real-world trade finance applications, GTR spoke to the teams at Siemens Healthineers and Komgo to explore how AI is being used in practice. “We began with a problem,” says Tim Bachinger, head of trade finance at Siemens Healthineers, describing the firm’s foray into using AI tools in…