Trade resilience discussions open the agenda at ITFA’s CEE conference in Belgrade

Belgrade hosted the ITFA CEERC Educational & Networking Event, with a programme covering trade resilience, regional economic developments, digitalisation and the changing demands on trade finance.

Central and South Eastern Europe remains closely connected to the wider European economy, but intraregional trade also plays an important role. The presentations highlighted the asymmetry in the region’s trade relationship with China, raising questions about trade flows, economic dependencies and resilience.

Currency developments added another dimension. The US dollar continues to dominate international trade, while the euro has room to strengthen its role and the renminbi remains comparatively limited in cross-border transactions.

On the technology side, discussions covered AI applications in trade finance, digital guarantees and the potential for a European Receivables Register. The latter could build on the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) framework to improve transparency and reduce the risk of double financing.

The meeting also examined developments in factoring, financial crime prevention and compliance, illustrating the range of operational and regulatory questions facing banks in the region.

The event also reflected the growing cooperation between ICC Austria and ITFA CEERC, with both organisations contributing their expertise and strengthening their regional engagement.

Thank you to ITFA CEERC and NLB Komercijalna Banka for hosting the event in Belgrade.

Chairs of ITFA CEERC: Elitza Kavrakova, RBI; Semih Özcan, Raiffeisenbank Niederösterreich; Victor Nagy, OTP Bank