FCI publishes its 38th edition of the Global Factoring Annual Review!
The 2021 FCI Annual Review has been published online today. The FCI Annual Review is a globally recognised publication in the world of Factoring and Receivables Finance. In addition to publishing the final statistics for the industry showing this year a 6.5% drop compared to previous year, it includes the highly appreciated Global Industry Annual Report (GIAR) analysis that reports on quantitative but also qualitative data.
Peter Mulroy, FCI secretary-general introduces the publication by highlighting the major challenges and opportunities facing the industry. Mulroy stated “2020 was a very challenging year for FCI members and the Receivables Finance industry in general. We entered the new year with the lingering effects of the trade war, major geopolitical issues, and the finalisation of Brexit. However, the most significant event, Covid-19 brought destabilizing forces impacting all areas of the business. The industry declined in volume in 2020 by 6.5%, over 5 times more than the only other decline that occurred in 2009, representing the biggest drop in factoring business ever recorded. Dilution, fraud and credit risk increased and cash flows were severely affected especially in the first half 2020. Despite these challenges, the industry got through the worst of it, as we can see from the significant turnaround in the 1H2021, especially in the developed markets. And technology was an incredible enabler of this progress. The Annual Review provides a great in-depth understanding of what transpired during this epic year!”
In this year’s edition, we have a special roundtable discussion moderated by John Beaney, (director, HSBC GTRF) which discusses with senior executives spread around the world (Brendan du Preez – group head supply chain & working capital finance, Standard Bank, South Africa; Eric Lu – senior vice president, CTBC Bank, Taiwan; Maria Luisa Muñoz – head of transaction banking, Bancolombia, Colombia and Roberto Weckop – director & head of international business, Deutsche Factoring Bank, Germany) the relevance of factoring in times of crisis and how it’s playing a critical role through providing liquidity, supporting adaption of supply chains, and managing risk. The panel also shared their digital transformation experience and their thoughts on both the importance of innovation and industry standards.
The publication also profiles each region with updates, challenges, and their 2021 outlook presented by the FCI regional directors (Mr Nassourou Aminou, Mr Alberto Wyderka, Mr Lin Hui, Mr Thompson Lui and Mrs Betül Kurtulus) and the chair of the EU Federation Mrs Françoise Palle-Guillabert.
Aysen Çetintas, director of education, highlights the importance of Education even more in these challenging times. FCI offers a globally recognised learning platform, FCI Academy that provides students with certifications in factoring and receivables finance. The Academy has recently opened its virtual doors and unveiled its online curricula of the Certificate Programmes and the Specialised Online Courses to all industry stakeholders.
The chairman of FCI, Patrick de Villepin, reflected on how we are to recover, post Covid-19, in the introduction of the Annual Review. He states “We all expect that 2021 will be better than 2020, albeit with some credit challenges possibly later in the year. We are already beginning to see a surge in domestic factoring as reported by our members in North America, Europe and China and according to our latest international factoring figures, the volume has surged, growing nearly double-digit. However, we are still not out of the woods. But as the global economy will return to some normalcy, global trade will recover. Let’s be prepared for this.”
You may download the annual review here or read it online here
