First Latin American Bank Joins Blockchain-Based TradeAssets

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (Bladex), a Latin American and Caribbean countries bank, informed on Monday that it had entered into a partnership agreement with Dubai-based TradeAssets blockchain platform for financial institutions operated by Fintech Innovations International DMCC.

According to the press release, TradeAssets is the first request-for-quotation (RFQ) auction platform based on blockchain technology to eliminate financial institutions' inefficiencies in buying and selling trade finance assets.

Due to the bilateral partnership, Bladex will become the first bank from the Latin America region to join the Dubai-based platform. Fintech Innovations International DMCC wants to encourage more regional financial institutions to support better transaction flow between the different territories.

TradeAssets already allowed Bladex to establish advanced relationships in new jurisdictions. The institution is negotiating with some Indian banks to support the Latam-India trade finance corridor, where trade flows reached $43 billion in 2021, raising 46% yearly.

"Bladex is building its strategic plan on a unique business model that will benefit from a series of critical alliances, such as the one with TradeAssets, which aims to grasp the existing finance opportunities across important trade corridors for Latin America in an efficient and safe manner," Jorge Salas, the CEO at Bladex, said.

Blockchain for Trade Distribution

TradeAssets was established in Dubai more than three years ago and is currently operating in more than 30 countries, generating $2 billion in volumes. The long list of banks looking to utilize blockchain technology to accelerate trade distribution includes HSBC, Citibank and Bank of Africa.

"We are excited and privileged by this partnership with Bladex. As a market leader in the Latin-American trade finance space, Bladex provides a unique window into the entire region and is a prominent institution keen on raising its international connectivity within the continent and beyond," Sumit K. Roy, the Co-Founder & President of TradeAssets, commented.

Blockchain-based trade finance distribution allows relying on smart contracts, built-in-governance and distributed ledger technology to better and faster access new liquidity pools or to establish new trading partnerships.

In 2020, TradeAssets partnered with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), the first Islamic bank to use blockchain technology in trade finance. The institution launched ADIB Direct eFX, allowing its customers to secure online foreign FX rates for international transfers.