As part of a global plan to expand its SME trade finance business, Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has recruited veteran international trade expert Tony Brown as head of Trade Finance – Americas. Brown’s mission will be to drive BFS’s existing purchase order finance and export finance offerings as well as launch new trade finance services targeting U.S.- and Canadian-based small- and medium-sized exporters and importers.

Prior to joining Bibby, Brown spent 30 years building international trade finance businesses at Delta Trade Finance, First Capital, GMAC Commercial Finance and Manufacturers Hanover Trust. He pioneered purchase order financing in the early ‘90s; more recently, he developed and sold ground-breaking new products in trade payable and inventory purchase financing through his New York-based consulting firm, The Trade Advisory.

“With companies falling short of the credit they need to expand internationally, the market needs a mercantile lender that speaks their language and sees opportunities through their eyes,” said Simon Davies, BFS's London-based Global Head of Trade Finance. “We’re delighted to deploy Tony’s skills to help us deliver best-in-class trade financing for a sector of the market who increasingly need support. Ultimately Tony’s experience will play a key part in linking up the various components of the trade process within Bibby Line Group and helping us achieve our vision of a seamless door to door added value trade service to our clients.“

“Unlike most of its competitors, Bibby is ‘multilingual’ in the language of cross-border trade,” said Brown. “With fluency in finance, logistics, and doing business globally through offices in 16 markets - I’m thrilled with the opportunity.”

Leigh Lones, Bibby Financial Services CEO, Americas, added: “I am delighted Tony is joining our team to lead the company’s trade finance efforts. The timing of the banks’ withdrawal from small business lending due to regulatory restrictions coincides with the imperative for companies to prosper from cross-border opportunities. Delivering comprehensive support to small- and medium-sized businesses is central to our strategy.”

Bibby Financial Services is a worldwide market leader in business cash flow solutions to small- and medium-sized companies. With offices in eight North American cities and 15 countries around the world, its product portfolio includes accounts receivables finance, factoring, non-notification factoring, export finance, purchase order finance, specialist solutions for the staffing and trucking sectors, and it is an approved lender for the Export-Import Bank's working capital guaranty delegated authority program. Bibby Financial Services is a subsidiary of a 204-year-old privately held company based in the United Kingdom.