Falcon acquires DBS team to fill gap left by banks

With an aim to capitalise on the opportunities created by banks withdrawing from trade finance, Church leaves DBS, and heads a new Singapore-based team for multi award winning trade, corporate and commodity finance boutique Falcon Group

Andrew Church has joined Falcon Group together with Mahesh Parameswaran and Arun Crasta. They leave DBS, which is one of three major corporate banks in Singapore, to help Falcon step into the gaps left by banks reducing their exposure to trade finance. Establishing a new Singapore office, the team will work closely with the Falcon Indonesia office, and together build on the Group’s sales thrust across the Asian region, complementing their global operations and aspiration.

As many banks take a back seat, corporates are having to use their own funds to finance trade. As a provider of alternative sources of finance, this represents an opportunity for Falcon, which the new team will explore with respect to corporates operating in Asia-drawing on the Falcon ethos of fully understanding individual clients’ trade and working-capital needs and providing a tailored service-based solution.

Church, who has been in trade finance for 20 years, joins the company from DBS Singapore where he has been since 2008. He and Parameswaran established the Structured and Commodity Trade unit in Singapore covering trade sales across Asia. Crasta was based in Dubai and was responsible for driving trade finance sales for DBS Dubai and the Middle East; He is relocating to Singapore. All three previously worked together in DBS Mumbai from 2005 to 2008 where they played a major role in growing the DBS India trade finance client portfolio and asset base.

 “We pride ourselves in being able to help companies identify ‘stages’ in their end-to-end working capital cycle which, with the aide of Falcon Group’s global structuring capabilities and product offerings, can be enhanced,” says Church. “We believe that building long-term associations with established and dependable counterparts is key. Through Falcon we are able to provide innovative solutions which help companies achieve success.”

“The Singapore-based team brings with them strong knowledge of the Asian market, especially in cross-border trade,” says Will Nagle, Falcon’s CEO. “They have a fantastic opportunity to grow the Falcon brand in parts of Asia, such as India, that we have yet to fully exploit. Certainly, the move to Falcon Group appeals to their entrepreneurial instincts.”

The Singapore team will report directly to Nagle with an additional reporting line to Davy Kurniadi, Falcon’s Asian head, based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

For additional information, please contact:

Will Nagle, CEO of Falcon     +44 (0) 20 7337 6200

Robert Kelsey, Moorgate Communications Ltd.    +44 (0) 20 7377 4993

About Falcon Group: 

Falcon Group uses creative structuring solutions to provide direct funding and advice to cross-border corporates and financial institutions involved in trade and corporate finance.  As a provider of an alternative source of financing, Falcon partners with its client base in a manner that is markedly different from more traditional routes, providing innovation and tangible added value.

Falcon’s strength lies in delivering funding to the client using bespoke structures to finance one-off single transactions, annual programmes and revolving transactions.  Rather than operating with country or credit limits, Falcon provides a comprehensive, sophisticated and managed service, using well its established and respected in-house expertise.

Since 1996, Falcon has employed a wide and unique range of structuring tools across the spectrum of corporates and financial institutions including producers, traders, manufacturers, importers and exporters. The company is able to alleviate its clients’ concerns with regard to their funding issues, including credit risk, balance sheet and liquidity concerns. The ability to identify, understand, provide and manage funding to solve these issues is a highly regarded value-added service to their clients.

Falcon Group has a strong presence in the Middle East and Asia and a growing presence in Latin America.