Zahoor Dattu is a Senior Trade Services Specialist at Wells Fargo Bank NA, USA, and member of BAFT’s Commercial Letters of Credit Committee. The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent the views of Wells Fargo Bank.
International trade depends on two inseparable flows: the movement of goods and the movement of money. When goods stop moving, payments stop moving — and when both stall, global trade seizes up. The near total closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed this reality with exceptional clarity.
When issuing banks insert complex reimbursement terms and self-serving conditions into their credits, it distorts the purpose of the product, causes problems for confirming banks, and drives exporters away from using LCs.
The silent confirmation market is still active and prevalent for LCs in Asian countries as silent confirmation is one of the means for a beneficiary to mitigate issuing bank and country risk when it does not want other banks to confirm its credit.
Following release of a US Government joint advisory document, “Guidance to Address Illicit Shipping and Sanctions Evasion Practices”, one prominent trade finance specialist reviews its key elements and collects feedback from fellow bankers on what it means for practice.
