2023 Trade Finance Gaps, Growth, and Jobs Survey

The trade finance gap represents global unmet demand: the difference between requests and approvals for financing to support imports and exports. The COVID-19 pandemic crisis, macroeconomic factors, and geopolitical tensions all played a part in the global trade finance gap widening from $1.7 trillion in 2020.

The survey is the world’s leading barometer of trade finance health, with responses reflecting over 60% of the global market for bank-intermediated trade financing. It includes data from 137 banks from 54 countries and 185 companies based in 43 countries. Although demand for trade finance surged on the back of the sharp post-pandemic recovery, heightened economic risks have made it more difficult to secure than before, the survey shows.