Trade Finance during the Great Trade Collapse

Spreads skyrocketed. International trade plummeted by double digits. Banks were reportedly unable to meet the demand from their customers to finance their international trade operations, leaving a trade finance "gap" estimated at around US$25 billion. Governments and international institutions felt compelled to intervene based on the information that some 80-90 percent of world trade relies on some form of trade finance. As the recovery unfolds, the time has come to provide policy makers and analysts with a comprehensive assessment of the role of trade finance in the 2008-09 great trade collapse and the subsequent role of governments and institutions to help restore trade finance markets. Trade Finance during the Great Trade Collapse is the product of a fruitful collaboration during the crisis among the World Bank Group, international financial partners, private banks, and academia.