Reginato & Mercante S.r.l. (hereinafter R&M) was established in 1979 with the aim of implementing some of the most sophisticated financial instruments in the north east of Italy and specifically in international trade financing. It was the first company to operate in the area in this specific sector, straightaway meeting with considerable success via transactions which at the time were innovative, such as: - forfaiting; - buyer’s credits; - bank-to-bank export credit facilities; - confirming. In the 1980s R&M extended its activities to corporate finance transactions, in particular syndicated loans and subsidised credit facilities. Together with what was then the Cassa di Risparmio di Verona and the Magyar Hitel Bank (now ABN AMRO (Magyar) Bank Rt) in Budapest, it founded Duna Consult SPA to promote investment opportunities in Hungary. With Animex Corp. in Warsaw, it established VEWA Ltd to develop forfaiting business in Poland and subsequently set up in London with RM Trade Finance Ltd. In 1996 it entered the forfaiting market on a primary basis and obtained finance broker registration pursuant to Section 106 of the Banking Consolidation Act from the Ministry of the Treasury/UIC (Italian Exchange Office, as from 01.01.2008 merged into the Bank of Italy). From the outset it has been a member of IFA (International Forfaiting Association) and subsequently AFTA (Association of Trade and Forfaiting in the Americas).