Fifth EU FACTORING AND COMMERCIAL FINANCE SUMMIT, LISBON

CODIX WAS A GOLD SPONSOR OF THE FIFTH FCI SUMMIT

The Fifth EU Factoring and Commercial Finance Summit has taken place in Lisbon with the support of the Gold sponsor CODIX and the Portuguese Factoring Association ALF. The event took place in Lisbon, Portugal, from Thursday 21 March to Friday 22 March, 2019.

This Fifth Summit was a unique opportunity for Industry Leaders to network and address topics that really matter for the Factoring Industry. The conference, jointly organised by FCI and the EUF, brought over 120 professionals from all over Europe together to discuss the latest developments, opportunities and challenges in the Industry. The event was attended by Senior Managers of FCI members; CEOs of Industry players who are members of National Associations, represented by the EUF; CEOs of Industry players from other European and interested countries; Teachers, Researchers and Professionals with an interest in the finance of business in Europe; Supply Chain Finance companies; Companies offering their services to the world of factoring (lawyers, insurers, IT providers). The first day the Group Managing Director of CODIX Laurent Tabouelle gave presentation of the unique software solution iMX – the most effective system for the management of all kinds of financial businesses.

This year’s programme addressed the latest updates, promoting and celebrating the impact of the Factoring and Commercial Finance Industry which support the real economy and employment in Europe:

• Get an update on the most recent evolutions on the European Factoring scene, both in terms of figures as in terms of products offered.
• Discover the findings of the updated EUF White Paper.
• Fintech, Blockchain, new technologies… Take a look behind the buzz and get informed about initiatives that can really influence your Industry.
• How will the Factoring Industry look after Brexit? Get the views from the big players of the Industry.
• What are the consequences of CRR/Basel III?
• What kept us awake at night in 2018: report from Legal, Prudential and Economics & Statistics Committee, e-invoicing Chairpersons Followed by Q&A.
• Discover the Poland and Italy case regarding split payment.
• What is the factoring industry like in Portugal?
• What roused the factoring industry in 2018? Preliminary Statistics and Figures.

A research from Portugal was presented into the importance of timely financial support in stressed financial environments, reinforcing the need for appropriate funding mechanisms to meet the needs of businesses at different stages of lifecycle.

The concerns and potential impact on the Industry of changes in the CRR/Basel III implementation of credit insurance as a risk mitigation mechanism were also discussed together with the ongoing lobbying efforts to persuade regulators of the importance of recognising the specific nature of receivables funding when setting the new rules.

The participants in the event shared the key issues that have been occupying their committees’ attention over the last and coming year; it was clear that an enormous amount of work has and is going on to help protect and serve the Industry. One particular example has been the successful lobbying that has resulted in a derogated treatment in respect of the Net Stable Funding Ratio requirements.

The second day was opened with the sharing of the outcomes of the research for update of the ground-breaking EUF Whitepaper on the Industry, a publication designed to communicate the benefits and success of the industry to interested stakeholders. Highlights include the dominance of Manufacturing, Service and Distribution sectors in the users, the prevalence by number of SME and by value of large corporate users, the continued and indeed improved low loss given default performance reported within a large-scale representative sample survey of the Europe wide market.

The agenda covered also discussion on the implications of the ongoing developments and impact of new technology, fintechs and digitalisation on the Industry, which reinforced the conclusion that the effect of continuous change and evolution will continue to be felt across the whole sector.

Other topics of the past event were: the challenging developments of the new regulations that require split payments of invoices to separate the VAT element in the collection process. The participants came to the conclusion that the impact is clearly a challenge for administration and control within our Industry.

The last main panel of the Conference addressed the impact of Brexit on the European market. A challenging discussion, given that it is still not clear what Brexit will look like, if it will happen at all, and if it does, what the implications for cross border trade or the future health of the Union. The many options and permutations were discussed and analysed but perhaps in the end, the conclusion was “que sera, sera!”.