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- Welcome to the TTP Liquidity Brief at Sibos | Issue 25
Welcome to the TTP Liquidity Brief at Sibos | Issue 25
Sibos is done, and so are we (almost). Here's our wrap.
Deepesh Patel, Eleanor Hill, Carter Hoffman & Joy Macknight
October 06, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
🌟 Editor's note
Editor’s Note | Week of 6 October 2025
Sibos is done, and so are we (almost). Four days in Frankfurt felt like four weeks — panels, meetings, late nights, early mornings, and more coffee than we care to admit. If you’re reading this after making it through Messe Frankfurt, you probably also feel exhausted, but buzzing.
We kept ourselves busy. Our 13-part video series set out to capture the “hot topics” that kept coming up again and again throughout the week - AI, digital identity, instant payments, interoperability. You can already find these short, sharp takes from the people shaping the agenda on our website and social media.
In between filming, we reported on dozens of panels, had a string of genuinely productive meetings with partners, and somehow found time to throw, what we (perhaps a little biased-ly) think was the best evening event of Sibos: our boat party with Surecomp (Thanks also to Finverity and AWS for sponsoring).
And of course, the work doesn’t end when the lights go down in Frankfurt. Over the coming days, we’ll be sharing more of our Sibos coverage - more videos and podcasts and articles to come - so keep an eye out if you want to relive the week without having to endure the long walks from the conference hall to the main stages (and sore feet that came with it).
Yes, we’re a little tired. But it was worth it. Sibos reminded us why this industry matters, and why it only moves forward when people show up.
Until next time—stay caffeinated.
— Deepesh, Eleanor, Joy, Carter
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Slow Read
By TTP’s Global Advisory Panel member Tony Brown.
Liquidity tools, not dirty words
To be clear: factoring and supply chain finance (SCF, or reverse factoring) are not inherently problematic. Indeed, they are indispensable instruments of global commerce. From Mittelstand manufacturers in Germany to electronics exporters in Shenzhen, companies rely on these techniques to smooth cash flow, fund working capital, and underpin domestic and cross-border trade.
Factoring allows suppliers to sell invoices at a discount, unlocking liquidity without waiting 60, 90, or 120 days for payment, while mitigating debtor non-payment risk via non-recourse structures. Reverse factoring (SCF) enables buyers to extend their payment terms while offering suppliers faster, cheaper access to funds thanks to the buyer’s stronger credit rating.
Done properly, these practices enhance resilience, reduce counterparty risk, and keep supply chains moving. They became particularly vital during the pandemic and current tariff turmoil, when supply disruptions, rising interest rates and increased duties threatened the financial viability of entire sectors.
A legitimate tool, distorted by aggressive use
Where concern arises is not in the instruments themselves but in their overextension or abuse. As the collapses of Greensill Capital and Stenn demonstrated, the line between innovative finance and reckless opacity can be perilously thin. Those cases carried the taint of fraud and misrepresentation at the platform level. By contrast, FBG has not been accused of misconduct in arranging (not the lenders in providing) financing — but the suspicion is that the company’s aggressive, possibly excessive reliance on these tools may disguise deeper fragilities.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has recognised the potential for obfuscation. Its Accounting Standards Update No. 2022-04 now requires companies to disclose their use of SCF programmes. The aim is straightforward: if a financing mechanism functions like debt, investors deserve to see it as debt.
Under the Hood: Patrick James
Much of FBG’s funding has been associated with the efforts of Patrick James, a figure of Malaysian birth notable as much for his privacy as his prominence. Publicly available information is strikingly sparse: few, if any, personal photographs exist online, and James has faced previous fraud accusations unrelated to FBG. This veil of secrecy only deepens the unease over a financing web already described by some lenders as “impenetrable”.
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🗓️ Upcoming events
Partner events
16th CEE & SEE Regional Conference on Factoring & SCF
| ICC Supply Chain Finance Summit
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Feleban
| Trade Finance Investor Day
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Multimedia from Trade Treasury Payments
Hot topics at Sibos - Our latest transaction banking video series
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Till next time,