Partner Organizations

The International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) is the worldwide trade association for companies, financial institutions and intermediaries engaged in trade and the origination, structuring, risk mitigation and distribution of trade debt. ITFA also represents the wider trade finance syndication and secondary market for trade assets. ITFA prides itself in being the voice of the secondary market for trade finance, whilst also focusing on matters that are relevant to the whole trade finance spectrum.

ITFA presently has close to 300 members, located in over 50 different countries. These are classified under a variety of business sectors, with the most predominant being the banking industry. Others include forfaiting, insurance underwriters, law firms, fintechs as well as other institutions having a business interest in the areas of Trade Finance and Forfaiting.

The Surety Association of Canada (SAC) was formed in June 1992 to advocate for the surety industry across the country. Our membership consists of major bonding companies along with members from the insurance brokerage community, legal fraternity and other industry related entities. The combined business of our member surety companies comprises 97 % of all surety premiums written in Canada. Over the years, SAC has established itself as the true  “Voice of Surety in Canada”, with a staff of five and a small army of volunteers from coast to coast. Our efforts have resulted in a quadrupling of surety revenue since our formation nearly three decades ago.

Stecis was founded in 2006 on demand of the Trade Credit Insurance and Surety industry. For more than 14 years Stecis has trained thousands of professionals, many of them working in the TCI and Surety industry but also for banks, lawyers, brokers or in credit managers. Al major players in the Trade Credit Insurance and Surety market have sent employees to the Stecis courses. Stecis’ tutors all have or had senior positions in the financial industry, allowing them to share a lot of knowledge and experience including real case studies and actual developments.

The Berne Union, also known as The International Union of Credit & Investment Insurers, is an international non-profit association for the global export credit and investment insurance industry. Its mission is to actively facilitate cross-border trade by supporting international acceptance of sound principles in export credit and foreign investment. Among its members are world’s largest and most active export credit agencies, multilateral financial institutions and private underwriters of credit and political risk insurance, who collectively deliver around USD 2.5 trillion of payment risk protection to banks, exporters and investors annually – amounting to more than 13% of global cross-border trade.

The Panamerican Surety Association (PASA) was founded by a group of sureties across the American continent in 1972. Today, with 108 members from 27 countries worldwide, PASA represents the world market in suretyship, surety insurance, credit insurance and reinsurance thereof. The working committees are its driving force, carrying out multiple activities and meeting regularly to discuss courses of action. PASA holds annual meetings, a blend of lectures, workshops and social events, technical seminars focused on specific topics and the PASA School, which offers training courses for underwriters. PASA also develops the trainee program and provides statistical reports, among other benefits.