'Trade Finance Global' spoke to ING's DLT program director Mariana Gomez de la Villa on distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and trade finance, evaluating some of the real world applications of blockchain in trade finance.

ING introduces sustainable business loans for the broad group of non-listed companies. With these loans, the interest rate level increases or decreases with the achievement or not of sustainability criteria, which is assessed by the external rating agency EcoVadis.

ING teams up with IBM and MineHub on a new blockchain platform for mining and metals.

Enterprise software firm R3, together with partners Commerzbank, ING, Natixis, Rabobank, and RCI, successfully completed a live commercial paper transaction on the Euro Debt Solution application, built on R3’s blockchain platform, Corda.

ING’s latest report ‘Technology, the climate saviour?’ suggests that technology could reduce energy-related CO2 emissions by 64% globally. This is close to the emissions reduction targets of 2050, but misses the Paris Agreement climate targets for 2030.

BBVA, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered and Société Générale today announced they have joined ING in committing to measure the climate alignment of their lending portfolios, with the aim of steering them towards the well-below two-degree goal of the Paris Agreement.

ING this month began its second green bond transaction, launching a 12-year €1.5bn and seven-year €1.25bn green bond, just three years after unveiling its first green bond in what was then a fledgling market.

ING is one of the first global banks to build a strategic partnership with a fintech, making it a frontrunner in the innovative and rapidly changing payments space. By working closely with Payvision, a global omnichannel payment provider, we can now respond even faster to the fast pace of online payments.

The US trade deficit is not all it seems and President Trump could claim a ‘big win’ should he choose to clamp down on companies’ tax optimisation activities.

ING and HSBC have run their second blockchain pilot using the Voltron platform to make trade finance transactions digital and more efficient. The deal, for Tricon Energy, is the second blockchain pilot the two banks have run together using the Voltron platform to digitise trade finance documents.

With the introduction of its zero-knowledge set membership (ZKSM) solution, ING’s blockchain team achieved another milestone in overcoming challenges related to privacy on distributed ledger technology.

With global water resources under ever-increasing stress, a new report from WWF, ING and BCG calls for urgent efforts by corporates, investors, governments and NGOs to deliver sustainable, bankable freshwater projects, which will help improve water security, create financial value and enhance the health of the world’s river basins.

ING Corporate Finance was recognised as the best Benelux M&A Financial Adviser of the Year 2017 by Mergermarket.