Trade Finance Credit Operations
How to Screen Trade Finance Deal Flow and Eliminate Non-Performing Broker Submissions Before Underwriting
Trade finance desks rarely suffer from a lack of introductions. They suffer from an excess of unusable submissions.
Every week, lenders receive transaction summaries, commodity proposals, and intermediary introductions that appear promising at first glance. Yet only a small percentage progress to a stage where underwriting analysis is justified. The rest consume time, internal resources, and attention that should be directed toward executable transactions.
The primary operational risk in trade finance is not credit loss. It is underwriting capacity being spent on transactions that never existed in an executable form.
Why Trade Finance Proposals Collapse Early
No Verifiable Counterparties
The submitting intermediary cannot clearly identify the buyer, seller, or contractual relationships between them.
No Defined Trade Flow
The shipment sequence, title transfer, and payment triggers are not operationally described.
Missing Commercial Contracts
No purchase order, supply agreement, or confirmed off-take arrangement is available for review.
Instrument-First Requests
The discussion begins with a financial instrument instead of the underlying commercial transaction.
The First Question: Does a Transaction Actually Exist?
Before analyzing collateral, pricing, or insurance, a trade finance provider must confirm the existence of a real commercial transaction rather than a conceptual proposal.
A legitimate submission should be able to explain the transaction operationally:
- what goods are being traded
- where the goods originate and are delivered
- who owns the goods at each stage
- how payment is triggered
If the intermediary cannot describe these points clearly, underwriting should not begin.
Establish a Structured Intake Process
Financely designs submission intake and routing systems that require transaction clarity and documentation before a proposal reaches a financing desk.
Counterparty Verification
Trade finance depends on commercial performance. Therefore, counterparties must be identifiable and capable of fulfilling contractual obligations.
A credible submission can provide corporate registration details, operational history, and the specific commercial role of each party within the transaction.
If an intermediary cannot provide direct contact information for the operating buyer or supplier, the transaction is unlikely to progress.
Documentation Requirements
Trade finance is document-driven. At a minimum, a serious proposal should include:
- purchase orders
- commercial invoices
- supply contracts
- shipping or logistics plan
Without documentation, the proposal remains a discussion rather than a financeable transaction.
A real transaction produces documents naturally. A speculative proposal produces explanations.
Recognizing Instrument-Driven Requests
A frequent indicator of non-executable submissions is an early focus on financial instruments such as letters of credit or guarantees without explanation of the commercial trade.
In legitimate transactions, the instrument supports the trade. It does not create the trade.
Executable Transaction
Commercial relationship exists first, financing supports performance.
Non-Executable Proposal
Financing is requested before counterparties and contracts are defined.
What Effective Screening Achieves
Reduced Time Waste
Underwriters review fewer but materially stronger opportunities.
Higher Close Probability
Transactions reaching credit review are operationally structured.
Better Counterparty Engagement
Commercial participants understand the financing process before contact.
Predictable Pipeline
Deal flow becomes manageable and consistent.
Build a Screened Trade Finance Pipeline
Financely operates borrower and transaction intake channels designed to filter submissions before they consume underwriting capacity.