Crédit Agricole Launches Asia Pacific ESG-Linked Trade Finance Solution

Crédit Agricole CIB announced the launch of Smart Platform Assisted SustainablE (SPASE), a new AI-powered ESG-linked trade finance solution aimed at enabling companies to assess ESG performance across suppliers, products and trade flows.

According to Crédit Agricole CIB, the new platform is Asia Pacific’s first ESG-linked trade finance solution, and comes as companies have indicated a need for increased transparency on the sustainability impact of their supply chains, while ESG assessments are currently often conducted manually on a supplier-by-supplier basis.

The bank said that the new platform eliminates a bottleneck for global trade companies by automatically transforming raw transaction data into aggregated ESG dashboards for every transaction in their trade finance portfolios, converting ESG performance data into actionable intelligence for making informed business decisions.

According to the bank, SPASE will enable trade finance corporates to rebalance their portfolios and reduce operational costs by expanding relationships with high-impact suppliers and business opportunities in its value chains, and will motivate suppliers to invest in operational improvements to achieve higher ESG scores on SPASE for more commercial opportunities.

The bank has piloted the platform in Hong Kong, with plans to progressively introduce the new solution across the Asia-Pacific region.

Antoine Rose, Head of Sustainable Investment Banking, APAC and Middle East, said:

“As a sustainable finance leader, we have leveraged our green financing expertise and technological innovation capabilities to innovate with SPASE — the region’s first AI-backed trade finance solution for trade corporates. We are confident it will be instrumental in accelerating the regional sustainable development and reinforcing our position as a market pioneer in sustainable finance.”