Crédit Agricole CIB announced the launch of Smart Platform Assisted SustainablE (SPASE), an ESG-linked, AI-powered trade finance solution that leverages trade transaction data to generate a measurable and auditable view of ESG performance across suppliers, products and trade flows. It enables corporates to review their value chain operations for financial benefits and sustainable business opportunities.
Improvements on sustainable development in global trade finance have been modest due to the critical bottleneck – the manual, supplier-by-supplier ESG assessment process is excessively time-consuming and resource-intensive. Nevertheless many corporates are also indicating significant needs to increase transparency on the sustainable impact of their supply chain and are calling for sustainable trade finance solutions.
Crédit Agricole CIB originated SPASE to eliminate this bottleneck for global trade corporates, tapping into an unexplored market segment in Asia Pacific.
Powered by AI, SPASE automatically transforms the corporates’ raw transaction data into aggregated and comprehensive ESG dashboards for every transaction in their trade finance portfolios, converting ESG performance data into actionable intelligence for making informed business decisions.
Integrating sustainability directly at a transaction level, SPASE enables trade finance corporates to rebalance their portfolios and reduce operational costs by expanding relationships with high-impact suppliers and business opportunities in its value chains. SPASE will also help bolster sustainable development in the global trade finance sector. Suppliers will be motivated to invest in operational improvements to achieve higher ESG scores on SPASE for more commercial opportunities.
Crédit Agricole CIB has piloted SPASE in Hong Kong, with a Hong Kong based regional sourcing hub of a global leader in industrial services. The bank plans to progressively introduce the new solution across the region, where significant trading activities and demand for sustainable finance are expected to show exponential growth.
Parth Agrawal, head of international trade & transaction banking, Hong Kong, Crédit Agricole CIB, said: “We are proud to present SPASE, the first ESG-linked trade finance solution in Asia Pacific that redefines sustainability for our clients’ supply chain. SPASE sets a new benchmark, ensuring transparency and accountability across every link of the global value chain, while bringing tangible benefits to our clients.”
Source: theasianbanker.com
