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World Bank's US$60 million facility for Malawi to back L/Cs for critical imports

Malawi's commercial banks will be better able to access letters of credit (L/Cs) under a new World Bank imports backstopping facility backed by a US$60 million grant from the International Development Association, the multilateral development bank's vehicle for supporting the world's poorest countries.

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Canada simplifies use of L/Cs for federally regulated insurance companies

Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) has issued revised general guidelines to simplify the use of letters of credit (L/Cs) for federally regulated insurance companies (FRIs).

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Annual Survey of Letter of Credit Law and Practice

Just published in the Trade Finance Channel of the Digital Library.

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L/Cs central in new affordable insurance facility for Ukrainian food exports

Affordable insurance supporting the export of grain and other critical food supplies globally from Ukraine's Black Sea ports will be made available through a new US$50 million facility developed by insurance broker Marsh , Lloyd's of London, insurers and Ukrainian state financial institutions.

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Zimbabwe no longer reliant on Afreximbank's L/C support says bank official

Zimbabwe's central bank is no longer in dire need of letter of credit (L/C) support from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) according to its vice-president of finance, administration and banking services, Denys Denya.

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AfDB and Attijariwafa bank risk participation agreement expected to boost L/C flows in African trade

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a EUR 100 million (US$107 million) trade finance funded risk participation agreement (RPA) facility with Attijariwafa bank, which is based in Morocco and has a footprint in 15 African countries.

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Afreximbank to provide US$95 million AFTRAF facilities to two Burundi banks

The African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) has agreed to provide African Trade Facilitation Programme (AFTRAF) facilities totalling US$95 million in favour Banque Banque de Credit de Bujumbura (BCB) and Commerciale du Burundi (Bancobu) to support trade finance in Burundi.

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Creditors and banks await WeWork restructuring

Landlord creditors and issuing banks are waiting to see how the flexible workspace provider WeWork will be restructured since it filed for US bankruptcy protection last week.

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Red flags related to L/Cs included in new US guidance on export control evasion

Purchases under letters of credit (L/Cs) that are consigned to the issuing bank are amongst several red flags listed in new suspicious activity reporting (SAR) guidance to support US financial institutions in reporting potential efforts to evade US export controls.

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GSBN partners with ZAN for tokenised eBL, but interface with digital L/Cs uncertain

Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ZAN, a technology brand of Ant Group Digital Technologies, to enter into a partnership to explore technical innovations for tokenising the electronic bill of lading (eBL).

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ICC reports increase in import L/C risks, but post pandemic trade credit remains low risk

Global exposure-weighted default rates for import L/Cs almost doubled from 2021 to 2022, according to the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC's) latest market forecasts for global trade and trade finance in the emerging macroeconomic climate.

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Fidelity provides L/C to support Afreximbank facility to allow Johnvents to finance commodities in transit

Fidelity Bank Nigeria is providing a letter of credit (L/C) in support of a US$40 million pre-export facility from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in favour of Nigerian cocoa processing and trading company, Johnvents Industries.

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New Opinions from the ICC Banking Commission

The latest ICC Opinions from the Banking Commission Meeting held in October 2023 are now available under the Trade Finance Channel of the Digital Library.

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Crédit Agricole successfully appeals decision in US$23.7 million. L/C dispute

PPT Energy, an Indonesia-Japan joint venture company, has been ordered by a court in Singapore to pay Crédit Agricole US$10.3 million in a dispute over fraud perpetrated by the collapsed commodities group, ZenRock.

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Contour trade finance platform to terminate operations

One of the best known developers of digital letters of credit (L/Cs), the Contour blockchain trade finance network, is terminating its operations, Global Trade Review (GTR) has reported.

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India's banks contemplate new blockchain trade finance platform

India's state-owned banks are mulling the establishment of a new unified blockchain technology platform for issuing letters of credit (L/Cs), among other applications for use by their corporate clients.

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Regional ISPs object to BEAD's L/C requirement and suggest alternatives

Six of the largest regional internet service providers (ISPs) in the US have written to commerce secretary Gina Raimondo this week proposing alternatives to the current letter of credit (L/C) requirement for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) programme.

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Standard Bank and DP World conclude US$365 million facility following trade finance partnership with L/C offering

Multinational logistics and port terminal operator DP World has concluded a US$365 million multi-currency facility agreement featuring letters of credit (L/Cs) with the largest bank in Africa by assets, Standard Bank, to support its logistics and market access expansion across the sub-Saharan Africa region.

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Conflicting views on L/C availability from Iran's 'freed' US$6 billion funds

The Washington Post reported last week that the US and Qatar have agreed to deny Iran access to US$6 billion recently transferred to the Islamic Republic but held in Qatar as part of a deal between Washington and Tehran that led to the release of five imprisoned Americans from Iran last month.

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Latin American and Caribbean growth corporates opt for L/Cs and invoice factoring

Growth corporates in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) rely on trade finance instruments such as letters of credit (L/Cs) and invoice factoring as their primary working capital solutions, according to the 2023-2024 Growth Corporates Working Capital Index.

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L/C shortages bringing shipping services to a halt at Bangladesh's primary port

Letter of credit (L/C) shortages are bringing shipping services to a halt at Bangladesh's primary port of Chattogram.

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Lloyds pursues paperless trade ambitions with digital standby L/C and guarantee solution

As part of its ambitious plans to eliminate the physical delivery of paper in trade finance operations, Lloyds Bank has developed a new solution where clients can request digital direct guarantees and standby letters of credit (L/Cs), helping them to trade more efficiently, safely, and securely.

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China and Brazil write L/Cs in first time trade in local currencies

China and Brazil have completed a commercial deal in their local currencies for the first time, with transactions financed and settled in renminbi (RMB) and converted directly into Brazilian reals, according to the Bank of China Brazil.

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New requirement by Lloyd's to validate L/Cs may respond to insurance industry fraud concerns

Lloyd's of London, one of the world's most respected insurance and reinsurance markets, has issued a market bulletin updating requirements around the provision of Tier 2 capital. In the Lloyd's context, Tier 2 capital typically includes letters of credit (L/Cs), bank guarantees and life insurance policies that ensure an insurer or reinsurer meets capital and risk management.

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Manufacturers refused L/Cs as Nigeria struggles with US dollar shortage and central bank mismanagement

Nigerian manufacturers' letters of credit (L/Cs) for essential raw material imports are being rejected by foreign suppliers who are refusing to deliver goods.

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JP Morgan was not entitled to refuse to pay L/Cs on the basis of red flags says Singapore's appeal court

Singapore's Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of Kuvera Resources against JP Morgan Chase Bank after the bank was sued for refusing to pay a coal trader under two letters of credit (L/Cs) because its sanctions screening revealed that doing so would have violated US sanctions.

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Standby L/Cs central to new risk management safety net for banks and credit unions

The Interbank Contingent Liquidity Funding Exchange (ICLFE) has introduced what it describes as a unique market-based cooperative platform, the Interbank Liquidity Exchange (ILE), which is based on reciprocal standby letters of credit (L/Cs).

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Top US commercial bank latches onto StanChart's network to access export, import and standby L/Cs

A top US commercial bank is aiming to help customers expand or tap new markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East by offering a range of letters of credit (L/Cs) via Standard Chartered Americas' network in some of the world's fastest developing markets.

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L/Cs to help boost Africa's growing market for electric vehicles

Letters of credit (L/Cs) will be used to underwrite transactions in a new trade facilitation platform aimed at accelerating the growing market for electric vehicles (EVs) in Africa.

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Azerbaijan's Rabitabank gets US$10 million ITFC L/C facility

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and Azerbaijani commercial bank, Rabitabank, have signed a US$10 million letter of credit (L/C) confirmation facility to help meet the private sector's trade finance needs.

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Currency diversification continues with StanChart's BDT-INR transaction

Standard Chartered Bangladesh says it has completed the first Indian rupee (INR) denominated trade transaction for Bangladesh's Walton Hi-Tech Industries to facilitate refrigerator and freezer exports to India. This is also the first Bangladeshi taka-INR (BDT-INR) export transaction for Bangladesh's electronics industry.

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Citi Token Services to serve the same purpose as L/Cs and bank guarantees

Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions has announced the creation and piloting of Citi Token Services (CTS) for cash management and trade finance.

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EBRD's L/C oriented TFP steps in to support Ukraine's food security and more

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting food security and critical industries in Ukraine by opening a Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) limit for guarantees and cash advances to enhance KredoBank's product offer and has entered into a new risk-sharing agreement with the Ukrainian bank.

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DBS to offer L/Cs in partnership with NBFCs to grow its Indian SME loan book

DBS India is looking to build its loan book of Indian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by partnering with nonbanking financial companies (NBFCs) to provide letters of credit (L/Cs) and other international trade finance offerings that NBFCs cannot provide.

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Irish court refuses rare application to prevent payment under an L/C to restrain payment in aid of an intended arbitration

An Irish High Court has refused an injunction in a rare application to restrain a bank from paying out under a letter of credit (L/C) in aid of an intended arbitration.

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L/C expected in to underpin framework to release allow Ukrainian grain exports

A letter of credit (L/C) is expected to be a key component in a new framework designed to facilitate exports of Ukrainian grain around the world to those countries that need it most.

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Entities possibly linked with fraudulent Vesttoo L/C scandal named

Court filings in Hong Kong have named two entities that may be involved in the Vesttoo scandal involving allegedly fraudulent letters of credit (L/Cs) being used to perpetrate a multi-billion dollar fraud involving insurance fintech, Vesttoo (DC World News, 19 July 2023).

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Nigerian banks benefit from naira devaluation , companies with L/Cs and overseas loans lose out

Nigeria's banks have been cashing in on the devaluation of the Nigerian naira that forced some of the country's largest companies revalue overseas loans and letters of credit (L/Cs)

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DBS and ICICI participate in first international shipment using TradeTrust blockchain

Singapore's DBS and India's ICICI Bank have participated in the successful completion of the first live blockchain paperless transaction using the TradeTrust framework for a shipment between Singaporean and Indian businesses.

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Update on Vesttoo forged L/C scandal, founders sacked and implicated

A new filing in the Vesttoo scandal involving allegedly fraudulent letters of credit (L/Cs) being used to perpetrate a multi-billion dollar fraud involving insurance fintech, Vesttoo (DC World News, 19 July 2023), has shed more light on the size of the scam.

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