Webinar on Export Letters of Credit

Overview: 

This teleconference will walk you through the steps in the life of a letter of credit, identifying pitfalls along the way. The teleconference will review and illustrate fundamental principles using real-life examples.

Our presenter will explain how these principles apply to both commercial and standby letters of credit and how these two types differ. In particular, you'll learn why letters of credit might not get paid. Along the way, you will learn about standard and silent confirmation and how to get paid in hours instead of weeks. 

Why should you Attend: 

Letters of credit used in export sales (commercial L/Cs) are quite different from those credit managers are accustomed to using in domestic sales (standby L/Cs). The biggest difference is that export L/Cs are intended to be drawn on and thereby serve as the means of payment for goods shipped. The "rub" is that they tend to call for more documents, many of which are prepared by third parties. Export L/Cs are designed to serve as a reliable means of credit assurance and also an efficient means of payment. Yet 75% of the time the documents are noncompliant and it can take 3 to 6 weeks to get paid on a "sight" L/C.

This session will provide participants with a detailed review of the mechanics of export L/Cs and how they are structured to assure fast payment. The discussion will then focus on the points at which the process tends to break down. Participants will learn how to get paid in one or two days, even when documents are discrepant, how to avoid discrepancies (and non-payment), and how and when to use "silent confirmations." 

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Export Credit Risks
• What Is a Letter of Credit?
• Mechanics and Principles of Letters of Credit
• Confirmed Letters of Credit
• Usance Letters of Credit
• Financing Letter of Credit Sales
• What to Ask for in Your Letters of Credit (Creating an Instructions Form)

Who Will Benefit:

• Attorneys
• Credit and collection managers
• Presidents
• Vice presidents
• Business owners
• Managers
• Insurance professionals
• Lending professionals
• Accountants
• Bankers

Speaker Profile:

Walter (Buddy) Baker brings more than 30 years of experience in international trade finance to his current position as Vice President and head of Global Trade Solutions Delivery for Fifth Third Bank. Fifth Third is one of the 20 largest banks in the US and provides a full range of risk mitigation and financing products for exporters and importers. Mr. Baker’s professional experience includes earlier stints with Atradius Trade Credit Insurance, ABN AMRO Bank, Bank of America, Wachovia Bank, and The First National Bank of Chicago. 

Mr. Baker is a recognized expert in trade finance and author of numerous magazine articles and the books Users’ Handbook to Documentary Credits under UCP600, Documentary Payments & Short-Term Trade Finance, and The Regulatory Environment of Letters of Credit and Trade Finance. He owns the consulting firm Global Trade Risk Management Strategies, which specializes in educational training, and makes frequent presentations for national associations of exporters, importers, bankers, and lawyers. As a member of the National Letter of Credit Committee of the International Financial Services Association, the Advisory Council of the Institute for International Banking Law and Practice, and the Council for International Standby Practices, Mr. Baker is actively involved in establishing national and worldwide standard practices for LCs. He participated in the most recent revision of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (referred to as “UCP600”), contributed to the creation of the official ICC guide for examining letter of credit documents, called the International Standard Banking Practices for the Examination of Documents under Documentary Credits, and served on the drafting committees for the International Standby Practices (“ISP98”) and Article 5 of the Uniform Commercial Code. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Association of International Credit and Trade Finance Professionals (“ICTF”), a multinational association of export credit managers.