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The Hidden Value Leak in Trade Finance

Trade finance underpins global commerce, yet the way many banks process transactions today still relies on slow screening, manual document checks and fragmented compliance workflows that quietly cost banks time, money and regulatory confidence.

Our latest report – The 2026 Trade Finance Value Leak – explores how an estimated €12m in annual operating costs are trapped in manual trade document processing at mid to large banks and how some are already closing leaks with better-designed trade workflows.





The Hidden Value Leak in Trade Finance​

Trade finance underpins global commerce, yet the way many banks process transactions today still relies on slow screening, manual document checks and fragmented compliance workflows that quietly cost banks time, money and regulatory confidence.

Our latest report – The 2026 Trade Finance Value Leak – explores how an estimated €12m in annual operating costs are trapped in manual trade document processing at mid to large banks and how some are already closing leaks with better-designed trade workflows.



Image of a stack of The Trade Finance Value Leak report

​Download the report

A practical guide to identifying operational leakage in trade finance and building workflows that scale under regulatory pressure.

Inside the report:

  • The Trade Finance Value Leak framework
  • Real operational insights from trade finance leaders
  • How banks and large corporations quantify operational leakage
  • Practical steps to improve trade workflows and auditability
  • Primary research with global trade banks
  • Recent published research into trade finance workflows
  • Insight from Conpend’s many years of dealing with trade value leakage
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A Practical Framework to Close Trade Finance Value Leak

This report provides a key resource to aid those responsible for transforming their trade finance operation in identifying recurring categories of value leak that are possibly impacting their organisation today:

Icon showing a workflow of three stacked blocks, with arrows from one box to the next


Understand and address where efficiency leakages are commonly found resulting in costly exception handling and re-work

Icon of a trade document with a warning triangle with '!' symbol


Solve accuracy and auditability gaps that increase regulatory risk or remediation effort


Icon of a timer with a small warning lable


Explore where revenue and customer experience drag is possibly causing delays and limits to predictability

Icon of a cog with an '!' in the centre


Explore where revenue and customer experience drag is possibly causing delays and limits to predictability​

A Practical Framework to Close Trade Finance Value Leak

This report provides a key resource to aid those responsible for transforming their trade finance operation in identifying recurring categories of value leak that are possibly impacting their organisation today:

Icon showing a workflow of three stacked blocks, with arrows from one box to the next


Understand and address where efficiency leakages are commonly found resulting in costly exception handling and re-work

Icon of a trade document with a warning triangle with '!' symbol


Solve accuracy and auditability gaps that increase regulatory risk or remediation effort


Icon of a timer with a small warning lable


Explore where revenue and customer experience drag is possibly causing delays and limits to predictability

Icon of a cog with an '!' in the centre


Explore where revenue and customer experience drag is possibly causing delays and limits to predictability​


Trusted by Our Clients

Client logos from left to right; BNPP Aribas, ING, UniCredit, Commerzbank, Santander, Belfius, Danske Bank, Maybank, Intesa Sanpaolo and BankABC


Trusted by Our Clients

Client logos from left to right; BNPP Aribas, ING, UniCredit, Commerzbank, Santander, Belfius, Danske Bank, Maybank, Intesa Sanpaolo and BankABC