* G20 wants to help trade finance for poor countries
* Bankers say trade finance caught up in new bank rules
SEOUL, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Leaders of the G20 rich and emerging economies agreed on Friday to monitor how banking regulation affects the supply of trade finance, the lifeblood of global commerce.
Practitioners of trade finance, which underpins 60-80 percent of the $12-13 trillion in global merchandise trade, say banking rules designed to forestall a new financial crisis could make trade finance more expensive or less available.
Bankers have been calling on the Basel banking regulators to revise the rules so that trade finance -- which they argue is much safer than other forms of lending -- is not unfairly penalised. [ID:nTOE6A907K]
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision says it is aware of the issues, but has not responded to the bankers' calls, which have been backed up by a database showing that the default rate on trade finance is only 0.02 percent. [ID:nLDE69D1DU]
In a statement issued after a two-day summit, the G20 leaders said they would support measures to increase the availability of trade finance in developing countries, especially the poorest low-income countries (LICs).
"In this respect, we also agree to monitor and assess trade finance programs in support of developing countries, in particular their coverage and impact on LICs, and to evaluate the impact of regulatory regimes on trade finance," they said.
At a previous summit in London in April 2009, when trade finance had dried up in the wake of the credit crunch, the G20 put together a $250 billion trade finance package.
Flows of trade finance have now normalised in rich and emerging economies but are still disrupted in poorer developing countries, where they are often the only form of private-sector foreign funding available. [ID:nLDE69L1WZ]
In an annex to its main statement, the G20 called on the World Trade Organization to report back by February next year on the effectiveness of existing trade finance programs for low-income countries. (Reporting by Jonathan Lynn; editing by Ralph Boulton)