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The trade finance arm of Africa Merchant Capital (AMC) has hired Richard Ngumi as a transactor.
Having started in the London-based front-office role last week, Ngumi reports to AMC Trade Finance (AMCTF) commercial manager Paul Levy, and is tasked with originating trade finance deals into and out of Africa.
Ngumi moves to AMC from renewable energy firm Dream EP Global Energy Kenya, where he had been serving as a consultant for over two years.
He worked as a freelance finance consultant for nearly 18 months prior to this, having held a number of different roles at Stanbic Bank and Standard Bank – in investment banking, as well as trade and commodity finance – in the five years prior to this.
After much anticipation, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) came into effect on January 1, eliminating tariffs on 90% of goods produced on the continent. But for the agreement to be successful, countries must address more nuanced non-tariff barriers and build regional value chains.
Having been pushed back six months from its initial implementation date, trading under the AfCFTA has commenced. All African Union members but one, Eritrea, have signed the deal, and 34 out of 54 signatories have ratified the agreement.
“Africa is now trading under new rules, new preferences, because we want to build a single, integrated market on the African continent,” Wamkele Mene, secretary general of the AfCFTA, told a press conference on January 12.
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A raft of new US sanctions guidance and designations made 2020 a challenging year for banks involved in trade finance, yet the overall value of financial penalties handed out was low.
GTR speaks to legal experts about recent enforcement trends, the challenges facing trade finance lenders, and the likely impact of the incoming Biden administration.
The total value of settlements and fines paid to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the US’ fearsome sanctions regulator, was US$23.6mn last year – a substantial drop from 2019’s figure of nearly US$1.3bn.
But according to Evelyn Sheehan, a lawyer at Kobre & Kim and a former Department of Justice prosecutor, financial institutions and trading companies should not interpret that as a policy decision to relax enforcement.