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Institutional Solutions Working capital solutions Trade finance

About us

How we can make a difference to your business:

  • Relationship – we’re experts in trade and working capital and provide the convenience of a local trade service and quick turnaround times for trade transaction processing
  • Service – we have local, regional and international coverage and a dedicated customer service line that can assist you with any queries you might have
  • Tailored solutions – we provide flexible and non-standard solutions that take into account the credit requirements (cash flow) of your business. We aim to ensure value for money for you by providing local contacts through the service centre for free.

 

Importer solutions

Our import solutions help you pay overseas suppliers and borrow to pay for imports. Our solutions can also provide some protection against the risk that the goods will be delayed or won’t be delivered and include:

  • Import Documentary Collection
  • Import Documentary Letter of Credit
  • Trade Advance

Our products can provide you with the tools to manage risk and can provide solutions to your cash flow needs. Designed to give you confidence when trading overseas our solutions can close the cash flow gap between paying overseas suppliers and being paid by your local customers.

Exporter solutions

Our export solutions are designed to help you match the most cost effective options with appropriate risk mitigation techniques that support your trade terms.

These solutions have been created for businesses which export products, raw materials and services and include:

  • Export Documentary Collection
  • Export Documentary Letter of Credit
  • Without Recourse export Finance
  • Foreign Bill Negotiated

Spend some time with one of our Trade Finance professionals so they can provide you with the information you need to manage the risks that exporting can create in your business. We can also offer you a tailored solution to assist with the cashflow pressures that can be associated with exporting.

Structured solutions

We have a comprehensive structured solutions product suite to match your trade and working capital requirements.

This includes solutions that can finance your inventory purchases and help smooth the finance process for your supply-chain. We will spend the time to understand where the best opportunities are across your supply-chain and offer you solutions that create value for you, and possibly even your trading partners.

FAQs

How do I know that the goods that are shipped to me are what I ordered?

 

Under documentary Trade, banks globally only deal in the documents presented, such as the bills of lading, there is no guarantee of the quality or quantity of goods – except that the bank can check the documents. That said, under an Import Letter of Credit, you can require an original inspection certificate to be sent to you before payment is required, which you can specify to be issued by third party surveying companies giving you the certainty of the opinion of a third party.

How can I get access to finance to pay for my imports, as they take 3 weeks longer to get here than buying locally?

The bank can provide you with an import trade advance loan to finance the longer working capital cycle (subject to credit).

How do I know if my financial supply chain is working efficiently for me, and where can I improve it? 

Talk to us, we will understand your creditors, inventory cycles and debtors, and suggest ways to improve Days Payable Outstanding/Days inventory Held/Days Sales Outstanding and match your financing to your working capital needs.

How can I make sure that I get paid for my export?

An Export Letter of Credit is a guarantee from a bank based on documents, or under an Export Collection, your customers bank acts as your agent, and ensures your customer is required to adhere to the conditions of your contract (note: the overseas bank does not guarantee payment under a collection).

How do I protect my business from the risks of political instability?

Confirmed letters of credit, where we will take on the risk of your customers bank and guarantee you will be paid no matter what happens to their bank.

How can importers benefit from paying in Renminbi (RMB)?

Importers can benefit in two ways, from improving better pricing terms with Chinese suppliers; widening the supplier base, to companies who cannot accept foreign currency payments in China.