Trade finance

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

What is trade finance?

Trade finance is a range of banking solutions designed to facilitate international trade transactions for importers and exporters.

What is the scope of application of trade finance?

The scope of application of trade finance is wide and diversified.

The term "trade" refers here to the securing of transactions, both for exporters and importers. It includes solutions that reduce the risks incurred by both exporters (counterparty risk, for example) and importers (delivery risk). Documentary credit and international guarantees can be useful in covering these different risks.
The term "finance" refers to the problem of financing working capital requirements (WCR), which is more pronounced in international trade than in domestic trade. This financing can take two forms:

pre-financing (financing before shipment of the goods) which is obtained, for example, against the issue of market guarantees (advance payment guarantee);
post-financing, which allows the exporter to grant significant payment delays, while being paid on sight, which in turn also constitutes a source of post-financing for the importer. In concrete terms, discounting or mobilization of documentary credit meets this objective.

What is green trade finance?

Green trade finance is increasingly being discussed. How is it positioned in relation to trade finance?
The term "green" here refers to environmental issues, one of the essential components of Social and Environmental Responsibility (SER). As soon as the transaction (underlying) is part of a project to promote the environment (e.g. wind farm, improved water management, clean transport, etc.) and trade finance solutions are involved in this project (documentary credits, international guarantees), we speak of green trade finance.

Discover

Our Trade Finance Solutions

Our latest news and insights

Energy sovereignty under strain: from transition to strategic control
For decades, the global energy agenda has been framed around transition: decarbonization pathways, renewable deployment...

Expert views

For decades, the global energy agenda has been framed around transition: decarbonization pathways, renewable deployment and climate targets. That paradigm is shifting. The central question is no longer only how fast we can decarbonize, but who controls the resources, technologies and value chains that enable it.

Energy sovereignty under strain: from transition to strategic control

Contributing to decarbonization at scale: connecting the building blocks of an integrated energy transition
As the energy transition accelerates, solutions such as Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS), hydrogen and...

Expert views

As the energy transition accelerates, solutions such as Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS), hydrogen and e-fuels are moving from ambition to deployment across global markets. Technologies are maturing and industrial activity is increasing, but scaling these solutions now depends on something more complex: the ability to structure, finance and...

Contributing to decarbonization at scale: connecting the building blocks of an integrated energy transition

Banking on Nature: Financing Ecosystem Restoration Across the US
As climate pressures intensify, environmental infrastructure and mitigation banking emerge as important enablers to...

Clients' successes

As climate pressures intensify, environmental infrastructure and mitigation banking emerge as important enablers to protect and preserve biodiversity. Societe Generale’s participation in Naturion’s financing highlights how mitigation banking can help channel capital toward nature-based solutions with measurable environmental impact.

Banking on Nature: Financing Ecosystem Restoration Across the US