Credit Agricole CIB launched the Smart Platform Assisted SustainablE (SPASE) trade finance platform to assist companies to assess environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of suppliers, products and portfolios of trade finance in the Asia pacific region using artificial intelligence (AI). The platform has been built to support the increasing need for ESG-related trade finance, sustainable finance, AI-powered ESG platform, supply chain sustainability, and Asia-Pacific trade finance solutions by transforming transaction data into actionable ESG insights to help improve sustainability oversight, the bank said.

It is also timely as companies are under growing pressure from regulators, investors and customers to be more transparent and sustainable in their supply chains. Across global supply chains, the process of evaluating the environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts of suppliers is frequently done one-by-one, manually, and time consuming, according to Credit Agricole CIB. Overall, the goal of SPASE is to help make these assessments more efficient by automating data analysis and creating detailed ESG dashboards that promote wider use of ESG-based trade finance, sustainable finance, AI-powered ESG platform, and supply chain sustainability in the Asia-Pacific region.

An automated ESG assessment feature for the platform.

SPASE is a solution from Crédit Agricole CIB that tackles one of the most pressing issues in trade finance, the need to convert raw transaction data into consolidated ESG performance dashboards for each trade finance transaction in a company's portfolio, automatically. Rather than having to access parts of the data through manual or disconnected evaluations, businesses can get a single picture of the sustainability performance of their suppliers, products and trade flows.

Its AI tools process vast amounts of transaction data and transform ESG-related insights into actionable recommendations to aid in business planning, supplier relationships and portfolio management. Companies can gain a more comprehensive view of sustainability performance through the value chain, which in turn can help them to make better commercial and procurement decisions, and increase the visibility of ESG risks and opportunities.

Enabling sustainable supply chains

The bank says SPASE will help companies build a more robust trade finance portfolio, as they receive information on suppliers that have higher ESG scores, and increase business connections with those companies whose sustainability scores are higher.

It will also be used to motivate suppliers to enhance their environmental, social and governance efforts. ESG scores on SPASE could help make suppliers more likely to be desirable commercial partners and offer a benefit to those who score higher to improve their operations and implement sustainable business practices along supply chains.

The solution can also support companies to lower their operational costs for manual ESG assessments and enhance the efficiency in the monitoring of their sustainability performance in complex international trade networks, said Crédit Agricole CIB.

Pilot begins in Hong Kong

The bank has now done a pilot deployment in Hong Kong and is looking to roll out the platform over markets in Asia Pacific gradually.

The phased rollout is a reflection of the increasing interest in digital tools including sustainability factors in trade finance operations. Financial institutions are rolling out technology-driven solutions to help with compliance, risk management and sustainable business practices as more businesses look to solid metrics for evaluating and reporting their ESG performance.

In a world that increasingly prioritizes sustainable finance, trade finance has emerged as a critical sector for sustainable finance efforts, driven by a need for transparency across the entire value chain and the changing regulatory landscape and expectations of stakeholders.

Bank highlights sustainable finance strategy

Antoine Rose, Head of Sustainable Investment Banking for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at Crédit Agricole CIB, commented on the launch as follows: The platform is an innovative, sustainable finance offering that fuses the bank's expertise in sustainable finance with technology to benefit trade finance clients.

According to Rose, SPASE is the area's first AI-supported ESG-related trade finance solution for corporate customers, and will be key to sustainable development in Asia-Pacific. This is another indication of the bank's commitment to delivering technology-driven sustainable finance solutions to the region, he added.

SPASE is part of the recent trend of applying AI to financial services to enhance ESG data collection, analysis and reporting. Digital platforms supporting ESG assessment automation will become even more relevant to supporting responsible trade and investment decisions in global markets as companies commit to greater sustainability efforts and improve the resilience of their supply chains.