It's been just under two months since the ICC Banking Commission voted against revising UCP 600, but the long-running debate has not gone quiet. Last month brought an argument for revising UCP. This month, Dave Meynell responds, arguing that most of what practitioners want fixed in trade finance does not actually live inside the rules themselves.
Also new this month: a career trade banker on the unresolved tension between compliance expectations and the independence principle, and a fresh look at how ESG is reshaping credit assessment in trade finance.
Plus: a Chinese court ruling on what an issuing bank loses when it hands an original B/L to a defaulting applicant.
Dave Meynell argues that most of what proponents want fixed goes beyond what the UCP was ever designed to do. Meynell examines the strongest revision arguments article by article and asks whether the industry is genuinely better served by rewriting the framework or by sharpening how it is understood and applied.
Banks are caught between two demands: help law enforcement detect illicit trade flows, and stay out of the underlying commercial deal. A career trade banker explains why the tension between those expectations still doesn't have a clean answer.
ESG considerations are reshaping credit assessment, product structuring, and due diligence in trade finance. Doaa El Atawy's latest piece looks at the December 2025 expansion of the ICC's sustainability framework, the role of regional regulators, and the practical limits that documentation-based, short-tenor transactions still impose on real-time sustainability verification.
Evergrowing Bank Co., Ltd. v. Sambu Shipping Co., Ltd.
After paying USD 795,000 under a benzene LC and finding the applicant unable to repay, an issuing bank in China sought to recover its losses from the carrier that had earlier released the goods against a letter of indemnity. The claim was rejected at trial and on appeal, with the Jiangsu High People's Court holding that by handing one original bill of lading to the applicant, the bank had returned the pledge and lost its ability to assert pledge rights against the carrier. The decision carries implications for any issuing bank weighing how and when to release shipping documents to a defaulting applicant.
Two new trade finance career highlights this month:
We feature Singaporean LC expert Soh Chee Seng, whose career has shaped LC practice in SE Asia and beyond.
We also speak with Pattie Marshall of Wintrust, who reflects on five decades in the LC business as she steps into retirement.
Trade Finance Job Board
DCW is launching a job board for the trade finance community. If your institution is hiring across LC operations, trade sales, structuring, compliance, or related roles, send the posting to info@doccredit.world for inclusion.
Chris Sandler is the COO of the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, the organization which produces DCW. Reach Chris at sandler@iiblp.org
Exactly what is an issuing bank authorizing or requesting a nominated bank to do when it requests the bank to “add its confirmation” to a credit? Several considerations and questions should be weighed by a would-be confirmer.
In project-driven industries, guarantees and standby letters of credit shape bids and contract negotiations early. Nadia Khirddine of AtkinsRéalis offers a corporate perspective on structuring these instruments and working effectively with banks.
Judges at three court levels in China erred in deciding on the force majeure defense invoked by an applicant as the basis for an issuing bank’s filing for an injunction. Saibo Jin explains the case and its broader implications.
