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Alliant offers surety-based L/C alternatives on new national platform

US-based insurance distribution company, Alliant Insurance Services, has launched Alliant Commercial Surety, a new national platform targeting the commercial surety market.

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CargoX's digital L/C to feature in partnership with the world's eighth-largest container carrier

CargoX, which features digital letters of credit (L/Cs) as part of its suite of blockchain-based solutions for trade finance, has announced a strategic partnership with HMM, Korea's largest and the world's eighth-largest container carrier.

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Decentralised trade settlement specialist launches blockchain L/C alternative

Netz, a fintech specialising in decentralised trade settlements, has launched what it describes as a platform for cross-border commodity trading that serves as an alternative to traditional banking methods and letters of credit (L/Cs).

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L/C activities at six Bangladeshi banks restricted due to financial irregularities and owners' connections with deposed prime minister

The Bangladesh Bank (BB - central bank) has significantly restricted banks in the country that are controlled by the S Alam Group from conducting letter of credit (L/C) business.

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Bangladeshi mega-conglomerate faces serious TBML accusations

One of Bangladesh's largest and most diversified conglomerates has been accused of trade-based money laundering (TBML) at least US$135 million by using fraudulent letters of credit (L/Cs) to obtain loans.

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Nigeria's L/C payments more than halved in seven months

Nigeria's letter of credit (L/C) payments have experienced a significant drop in 2024, declining by 57 per cent in the first seven months of the year.

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Experts advocate Ethiopian EXIM Bank to facilitate L/C transactions

A group of financial experts is advocating that a project to build an Ethiopian Export-Import (EXIM) Bank with an alliance of the country's big financial institutions should be initiated, in part to make letters of credit (L/Cs) more available for Ethiopia's businesses and especially its small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

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L/Cs may have been improperly used in scheme to supply Nigeria with substandard Russian fuel

Letters of credit (L/Cs) may have been improperly used in schemes to import substandard fuel, including petroleum products, that originated in Russia but was shipped via Malta and then on to Nigeria.

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Obligo's L/C-based offering attracts established property management firm Yardi

Fintech Obligo, which uses letters of credit (L/Cs) from banking giant Wells Fargo to back its security deposit alternative for landlords and tenants (DC World News, 1 July 2022), has partnered with Yardi to provide new software solutions primarily for real estate management.

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Libyan banks suspend L/C processing as central bank descends into turmoil

Several Libyan commercial banks have notified their customers of the temporary suspension of letter of credit (L/C) processing and other key financial services due to ongoing turmoil at the Central Bank of Libya.

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Local currency deal enhances Ameriabank's L/C-oriented relationship with EBRD

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Ameriabank have signed an agreement enabling the Armenian bank to attract trade finance funding from the EBRD in Armenian drams.

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US$24 million L/C deal provides Sigma Lithium with attractive deferred payment offer

Sigma Lithium, has announced an inaugural deferred payment US$22.4 million letter of credit (L/C) for export financing with Banco do Brasil at very low interest rates.

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Fake L/Cs in multi-million dollar financial crime and money laundering operations

Fake letters of credit (L/Cs) played a critical role in a massive series of serious financial crimes and money laundering operations executed by a resident of the US state of Connecticut.

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L/C support for one of Ethiopia's largest banks provided by AfDB's transaction guarantee facility

One of Ethiopia's largest banks, Dashen Bank, is to benefit from an African Development Bank (AfDB) US$40 million transaction guarantee facility to support its trade finance activities in the country.

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Banker used fraudulent L/Cs and gold and diamond get-rich schemes in US$1.6 million investment scams

A banker in the US state of Georgia, entirely through his own wholly owned bank, is alleged to have defrauded investors of approximately US$1.6 million in two investment scams, according to a filing by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a court in Atlanta.

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L/Cs feature in the largest standalone battery energy storage financing globally

Australia's Akaysha Energy has announced the closing of a 650 million Australian dollar (A$650 million - US$430 million) debt raise with a group of eleven domestic and foreign banks.

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Lengthy L/C payment terms deterring bidders in Egypt's largest ever wheat tender

Lengthy payment terms on letters of credit (L/Cs) could be a key factor deterring suppliers from participating in Egypt's largest ever single wheat tender.

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Nigerian firms unable to meet L/C commitments due to central bank's failure to settle forex contracts

Nigerian firms are unable to meet letter of credit (L/C) commitments as the country is plunged into a severe crisis over the central bank's failure to settle US$2.4 billion of overdue foreign exchange forward contracts.

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EBRD-backed L/Cs featured in Ukraines' Oschadbank biggest trade finance deal of the year

Ukraines' Oschadbank has reported a significant increase in the volume of trade finance transactions over the year to June 2024 for large corporate clients under the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD's) Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP).

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Five new banks enter, three depart lucrative L/C agreement for Kenyan oil imports from two Gulf states

Kenya's Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority has revealed in a disclosure that five new banks have signed up to take part in the Kenyan government's lucrative US$500 million per month oil import scheme with the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

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Latest Technical Advisory Briefing

Just published - Technical Advisory Briefing from the ICC Banking Commission.

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Counterfeit Libyan banknotes laundered via L/Cs into US dollars

Banknotes described as counterfeit are being fed into Libya's legitimate economy by letters of credit (L/Cs) according to the Reuters news agency.

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'Magic wand' required for digital L/Cs in trade finance flows

It would take a magic wand, at least for the time being, to create a complete, end-to-end, integrated digital flow of trade finance that includes letters of credit (L/Cs), according to Akhil Nair, senior vice president for global ocean freight at global logistics and freight solutions provider, SEKO.

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Presidential intervention helps Nigeria's new refinery out of L/C difficulties

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has ordered state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to sell crude oil in naira to the newly opened Dangote Refinery (DC World News, 4 April 2024).

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Local currency L/Cs could help boost India's trade with Russia says think tank

Local currency letters of credit (L/Cs) could help India reach its ambitious target to increase bilateral trade with Russia to US$100 billion a year by 2030, according to Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

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US state department says L/C difficulties hamper Libya's investment climate

The slow and non-transparent process for letter of credit (L/C) approval in Libya is prompting most firms to use European banks when they do business on L/C terms with counterparties in Libya, the US state department says in its latest analysis of the North African country's investment climate.

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Deutsche Bank's L/Cs to contribute to energy transition

Deutsche Bank is contributing to the energy transition by providing letters of credit (L/Cs) to US clean energy company, Intersect Power, for the construction and operation of three standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Texas.

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Saskatchewan's L/C forestalls payment of disputed federal carbon tax

The Canadian province of Saskatchewan has employed a letter of credit (L/C) to forestall the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA's) efforts to reclaim C$56 million (US$41 million) in federal carbon tax.

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Larsen & Toubro expects improved L/C access after landmark global credit ratings

India's largest engineering and construction company, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), is expecting better access to letters of credit (L/Cs) as a result of ratings higher than the sovereign's 'BBB-' rating.

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Challenge insurer collateral requirements to reduce L/C costs says insurance expert

Insurers typically request insureds to provide collateral as security for their obligations under a reimbursement or reinsurance agreement. This most commonly comes in the form of a letter of credit (L/C). Each year, an L/C can cost an insured tens of thousands of pounds in fees.

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Ghanaian political party proposes establishment of new banks to issue L/Cs for public projects

A new political party in Ghana is proposing a radical reform of the country's banking sector that would see the government establishing banks that would issue letters of credit (L/Cs) to support public sector projects.

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Iran and Russia continue to mull alternative L/C and other financing arrangements

Iran's central bank chief, Mohammad Reza Farzin, is continuing to call for closer financial ties with Russia that would facilitate letter of credit (L/C) and other transactions between Iranian and Russian banks.

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New Opinions from the ICC Banking Commission

The latest ICC Opinions from the Banking Commission Meeting held in July 2024 are now available under the Trade Finance Channel of the Digital Library:

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Pakistan to push the case for Chinese yuan denominated L/C transactions

Amidst a persistently strong US dollar and fearful of shrinking foreign reserves, industry leaders in Bangladesh are hoping that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will successfully push the case for the use of the Chinese yuan in international transactions during his visit to China this week.

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US updates antiboycott list, L/C providers beware

The US department of commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has published its first quarterly update of the boycott requester list.

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Sri Lanka's 2-year L/C drought expected to end under debt restructuring

Sri Lanka's major country creditors have approved a major debt restructuring deal valued at a combined US$10 billion that should allow letter of credit (L/C) flows that dried up two years ago on the island state to resume.

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L/Cs feature in IFC trade facility for First Capital Bank Moçambique

To support trade flows to and from Mozambique and to strengthen the country's financial sector, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced the agreement of a new trade finance guarantee facility that includes letter of credit (L/C) support to First Capital Bank Moçambique (FCBM).

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Afreximbank facility to help CBZ Bank access L/Cs in Zimbabwe's dollarised economy

Zimbabwe's largest bank, CBZ Bank, says it already has customers lining up to take advantage of a new facility provided by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) that will provide them with improved access to letters of credit (L/Cs).

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Raiffeisen partners Surecomp to streamline L/C and guarantee processing

Canadian fintech Surecomp, which specialises in global trade finance solutions for banks and corporates, has been selected by Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), one of the leading banks in Austria and the wider Central and Eastern European (CEE) region, to reinforce their trade finance customer engagement.

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Discounted L/Cs on offer for foreign investors in Vietnam

Discounted letter of credit (L/C) fees are amongst the incentives on offer from Saigon Hanoi Bank (SHB) for companies operating in Vietnam that are either wholly or partially owned by foreign investors.

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