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Trade Finance: three trends reshaping international trade

Geopolitics, digitalisation and Supply Chain Finance at the heart of the sector’s evolution
07.10.2026

Trade Finance is undergoing a period of profound transformation. The evolving geopolitical landscape, the redefinition of trade corridors, the need to make processes and services more efficient, and the growing focus on supply chain resilience are changing the environment in which companies and financial institutions operate.

These topics were at the heart of “Global Trade Horizons. Strategies and New Routes to Compete in Global Markets”, the event organised on 15 September 2026 by Intesa Sanpaolo’s IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division at the Gallerie d’Italia in Milan. In the video, Luca Monti, Head of International Corporate and Financial Institutions Sales in GTB within the IMI CIB Division, analyses the current landscape and identifies three macro-trends set to play an increasingly central role in Trade Finance.

The first concerns the redefinition of trade corridors: geopolitical tensions and the difficulties affecting some traditional routes are prompting companies to rethink their supply networks, markets and operating models.

The second is the digitalisation of Trade Finance, which is becoming increasingly important in balancing cost sustainability, process efficiency and service quality in a sector historically characterised by a strong reliance on documentation.

Finally, Supply Chain Finance is becoming increasingly central in response to the need to strengthen supply chain continuity and support relationships between large buyers and strategic suppliers.

Watch the video to explore these three closely interconnected trends, which reflect a market that must adapt to increasingly complex value chains and constantly evolving international trade.

Luca Monti, Responsabile International Corporate and Financial Institutions Sales GTB, Divisione IMI CIB, Intesa Sanpaolo

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION

Good morning, everyone. My name is Luca Monti, and I am Head of International Corporate and Financial Institution Sales in GTB, within the IMI CIB Division.

Today, I would like to discuss three major developments in the world of trade finance.

Let me start with the most obvious: the geopolitical landscape. The current geopolitical landscape has primarily caused, in the world of trade finance, instability, particularly in the delivery and shipment of goods. This, of course, creates structural uncertainty.

Furthermore, many of the corridors that were previously used are no longer available. As a result, major buyers and exporters have had to adapt by using alternative corridors.

How have they done this? They have done so by adopting strategies such as reshoring or nearshoring, thus reviewing the geographical reach of their supply networks, bringing them closer, or by creating multipolar networks, with suppliers in different geographical areas providing the same types of services and products.

On the financial institution side, to decouple physical presence from the use of different corridors, institutions have used either proprietary platforms or third-party platforms, which make it possible to decouple transactions from a physical presence on the ground.

The second highly relevant topic and trend is the sustainability of service levels and costs. Trade finance is a business that has always been paper-based. However, to reduce costs and improve cost efficiency, we need to move towards digitalisation.

This is achieved through DLT networks, blockchain networks and any tools that enable service standardisation and separate customisation from the core product or service.

However, we must retain a certain degree of bespoke service customisation, whether in terms of speed or different contracts. This does not, of course, rule out the use of digital tools.

The third and final trend is the central role of supply chain finance.

Why? Because, in a world where it is essential for financial institutions to maintain extremely tight control over invested capital and creditworthiness, major buyers need to maintain supply networks made up of small and medium-sized enterprises that, despite being strategic, sometimes lack the required creditworthiness and credit standing.

This necessarily calls for the use of supply chain finance, which allows risk to be transferred from the individual supplier to the major buyer.

This, of course, enables supply networks to be maintained, while ensuring the same quality, even when strategic suppliers have only a mid-level credit standing.

So, to put it simply, the geopolitical landscape has reshaped trade corridors. Then there is the sustainability of costs and service levels, and therefore digitalisation. Third, the widespread use of supply chain finance.

These are the three trends that the trade finance market is currently navigating, and they will remain central.

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