Australia's Trade Finance markets: trade offers the next newest yet oldest market opportunity.

• Position: NEWS

Trade Finance is back on the agenda for most commercial banks after several years of moribund attention and stop-start market entry by international banks into the Australian domestic scene. Estimating the current value of these markets is challenging as few customers have an accurate understanding of what their trade finance services cost them and indeed how much they are spending. Nonetheless, it is sizeable. East & Partners' estimated 2005 market size based on demand side analytics drawn from the firm's six-monthly trade markets research service in terms of fees and charges but excluding interest income is:

* Commercial Markets A$570.5 million * Top 500 Corporates A$316.7 million * SME Markets A$155.8 million * Total 2005 Market A$1,043.0 million And based on customer expectations for the 2005/06 year, total market value is set to grow around 7.9 percent to A$1125.4 million.

Re-engineering underway

Domestic service providers have rediscovered trade and are actively...