Economics

A Plan to Reboot the $5 Trillion Engine That Powers Global Trade

  • Banks, exporters must digitize the global trade finance system
  • Modernized trade finance can help reduce economic disparities
Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg
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This year’s product shortages and supply chain snarls revealed the fragility of the $5.2 trillion trade finance network that helps fuel the global economy, according to a new report produced by McKinsey & Co.

For millions of small businesses -- particularly in the developing world -- the current system of trade finance is overly complicated, inaccessible and imposes a significant barrier to participation.