Trade Finance & Payments Professional

Ishtiak
Ahmed

CDCS® | VP – International Banking Operations | Uusimaa Region

21 years building and leading high-stakes trade finance and payments operations at one of Bangladesh's leading banks. Now in Finland, ready to bring that depth to Nordic financial institutions.

SWIFT MT103 / MT202 Documentary Credits Nostro Reconciliation TBML Compliance Temenos T24 Incoterms 2020

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Core Competencies

Areas of Expertise

Two decades of hands-on experience across every layer of trade finance and international payments.

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Trade Finance & Payments

Documentary Credits (LC)
SWIFT MT103 / MT202
International Payments
Nostro Reconciliation
Incoterms 2020

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Compliance & Risk

TBML Risk Identification
Regulatory Compliance
Transaction Monitoring
Audit Support
AML / KYC Frameworks

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Operations Leadership

Process Improvement
Workflow Optimisation
Stakeholder Coordination
SLA Management
Team Leadership

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Systems & Tools

Temenos T24
SWIFT System
Advanced Excel
MS Office Suite
Trade Finance Platforms

Career History

Professional Experience

A 21-year track record at one of Bangladesh's leading international banks — from management trainee to Vice President.

Vice President – International Banking Operations

📅 2003 – 2024

Export Import Bank of Bangladesh PLC · Dhaka, Bangladesh

Managed trade finance and payment operations exceeding €1.5 billion annually
Processed high-volume SWIFT payments (MT103, MT202) with zero audit failures
Performed daily Nostro account reconciliation across correspondent banks
Maintained 100% audit compliance for 5 consecutive years
Identified and escalated TBML risks in line with FATF and ICC guidelines
Led and mentored a 10-member operations team, improving efficiency by 25%
Resolved 95%+ operational cases within agreed SLA timelines
Designed and delivered trade finance training to 100+ banking professionals
Served as Member Secretary, Central Customer Services & Complaint Management Cell
Core trainer at the EBTRA Banking Academy

Academic Work

Publications & Research

Peer-reviewed and institutional research on sustainable finance, economic development, and trade.

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The impact of slowbalization on the sustainability of the ready-made garments industry in Bangladesh

Ahmed, I. (2025) · Master's Thesis · JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Finland

View on Theseus →

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India's economic growth and sustainability challenges

Ahmed, I., & Akpinar, M. (2025, October 2) · Finnish Business Review

Read in Finnish Business Review →

Conferences

2025

International Conference on Sustainable Business — Finland
2019

Asia-Pacific Conference on Trade Finance — UN ESCAP / ADB / ICC
2017

UN ESCAP Forum on Regional Integration — Asia-Pacific Region

Knowledge Hub

Writings & Articles

Research papers, trade finance articles, professional insights, and everything I've put to paper — all in one place.

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From My Blog

Latest posts from Substack — updated automatically

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Academic Background

Education

2023 – 2025

MBA – International Business Management

JAMK University of Applied Sciences · Jyväskylä, Finland

2005 – 2007

MBA – Finance & Banking

International Islamic University Chittagong · Bangladesh

Certifications

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CDCS® — Certified Documentary Credit Specialist

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

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Occupational Safety Card

Finland

Languages

English

Fluent / C2

Bengali

Native

Finnish

A2 · In Progress

Get in Touch

Let's start a conversation.

I’m currently looking for roles in trade finance, payments, or banking operations in Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa. If there’s an opportunity—or even just a chance to exchange ideas—I’d be glad to connect.

📍 Espoo, Finland 🇫🇮 Eligible to Work 🚗 Driving Licence

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ahmedishtiak293@gmail.com

linkedin.com/in/ishtiak-ahmed-cdcs

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