The Oxford Style Debate is back, pitting industry leaders against each-other in a battle of opinions. Our teams take on some of the hottest debates facing the global market today. The winners? That will be for you to decide.

• Will ECAs respond to the Coronavirus crisis in the same way that they reacted to the Global Financial Crisis?
• Should low income countries in Asia be more coordinated with their borrowing? Should banks be more careful when lending to countries that could find themselves in debt distress?
• Is the industry really taking sustainability seriously?
• Is the OECD consensus fit for purpose, and is the US seriously blocking progress on the matter?

For an organisation to truly champion diversity, it must implement strategies that encompass the entire business model. We look at how best to put in place these strategies, considering:

• What strategies are working, particularly when it comes to hiring more Black people into the industry?
• Creating a pipeline of diverse talent takes time. What happens across the lifespan of an individual’s career and at what points is intervention needed to give marginalized individuals a boost?
• We give examples of existing diversity practices that are making a tangible difference to organisational hierarchy

While ECA financing becomes a more lucrative option for exporters and borrowers, how are international and regional banks coping in the current market state? How are pricing structures shaping up? How has their risk appetite for certain countries (such as Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq) and for certain sectors (such as infrastructure and utilities) evolved? Are banks still able to provide enough support to their clients? Have opportunities for new partnerships or collaborations cropped up to provide more liquidity and favourable terms to borrowers? Are Central Banks providing enough support via their stimulus packages and payment delays or are more support measures required? Will we see an increase in more structured products rather than short-term loans as lending appetite decreases?

6 months post-lockdown, what have been the changes in financing terms for borrowers and exporters in LatAm? How have exporters fared with the changes in supply chains?

• Is enough support and flexibility being provided by governments, local banks, ECAs, and regional MFIs such as CAF and CABEI?
• Are exporters turning to third country sourcing for ECA financing? Is it to soon for borrowers in LatAm to turn to untied lending schemes?

In the light of Covid-19 we ask heads of units that include export, project and trade finance their view on the future of export finance as an asset class within their wider group strategy. With a global recession looming do we expect to see an uptick in business due to the countercyclical nature of export finance? How will the drive for sustainability and demand for green infrastructure investment shape the groups’ strategies? In today’s landscape of price compression and rolling regulation, how is ECA finance perceived? What does this mean for the future of large ECA finance teams? What is the role that banks will play in structuring ECA transactions given liquidity from institutional investors and ECA direct lending? What is the effect of digitisation and innovation within trade and export finance and the types of transactions banks favour? Has digitisation been accelerated by the pandemic? Will we see a shift away from financing long tenor illiquid assets in favour of new fast-moving industries?