Buddy Baker Email and Phone Number

Investment Banking Division

Specialized in providing online and on-site training classes, consulting, and acting as an expert witness regarding letters of credit, trade credit insurance, export risk mitigation, financing of trade transactions, and rules and regulations affecting trade finance. Target clients included exporters, importers, banks, and law firms. Based in Chicago.

Managed Fifth Third Bank's national team of Global Trade Product Specialists. Aggressively built the bank’s capabilities and market share with a particular focus on export finance and supply-chain finance. Expert in letters of credit (standby and commercial), documentary draft collections, and other trade-related services, including cross-border eCommerce, pre- and post-export financing, purchase of receivables, bankers’ acceptances, forfaiting, factoring, credit insurance, etc.

Atradius, based in the Netherlands, is the second largest credit insurer in the world, insuring an annual volume of USD600 billion in exports and domestic sales around the world. My role was twofold: First, I acted as an internal expert regarding products, transactions, and structures where financing is involved and as an interface to the banks Atradius worked with. These structures included asset-backed securitizations, asset-based lending, limited-recourse purchase of insured receivables, and insurance for confirmed letters of credit and bank-to-bank trade financing. Second, I served as a company front-man, making presentations to groups of exporters and bankers, writing magazine articles, and representing the company to various professional associations.

Responsible for maintaining a detailed knowledge of the bank's trade finance capabilities within North America and around the globe in order to structure deals and products to match the needs of our diverse customers wherever they may have been conducting business: Acted as the bank’s experts in letters of credit and other trade-related services, including cross-border eCommerce, pre- and post-export financing, purchasing of receivables, bankers’ acceptances, forfaiting, factoring, credit insurance, etc. Represented the bank to various standards-setting bodies and professional associations. Interacted daily with customers and Sales team to structure transactions and with foreign offices to establish trade-related programs and procedures. Previous roles included Product Management (North America) and Risk Management (global).

Split time between Sales and Product Management. Responsible for selling letters of credit, documentary collections, medium-term finance, and related electronic products to Fortune 500 corporations and other customers. Also responsible for developing intermediate-term, world-wide product plans for the division as well as for market segmentation, establishing unit costs and product profitability, gathering marketing and competitive intelligence, marshalling product development, and developing marketing campaigns and sales materials.

Managed 95 people in Trade Services processing locations in five offices across four states. Responsible for all of the bank’s letter of credit, documentary collection, and other trade-related services, including both processing and product management.

Initially managed a staff of 65 people responsible for processing of all of the bank’s letter of credit, documentary collection, bankers’ acceptance and other trade-related services. Later moved into Sales, and eventually became responsible for establishing and maintaining business in the division’s targeted market segments through alternative channels to face-to-face calling and for forecasting market trends for use in strategic planning. Represented the bank on various regional and national committees of international bankers and exporters as the bank's expert in trade services.

Managed a group of 12 people in Trade Operations responsible for all of the bank’s letter of credit, documentary collection, foreign exchange, wire transfer and other trade-related services. Went to New York in late 1981 to start an Edge Act subsidiary, Union Planters International Bank. Wrote all processing, accounting, and control procedures, obtained regulatory approval, and hired operations staff. Opened the bank for business on May 5, 1982 then returned to head office.

Managed a group of 21 people in Trade Operations responsible for all of the bank’s letter of credit, documentary collection, foreign exchange, wire transfer and other trade-related services.