Two ready for recycling very large crude carriers (VLCCs) are currently anchored off the coast of Chattogram, Bangladesh, facing delays in their sale to ship recyclers due to complications involving letters of credit (L/Cs) and international sanctions.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$25 million trade finance Transaction Guarantee Facility (TGF) that includes letter of credit (L/C) support for Bank of Africa Madagascar (BAM), and aims to accelerate the island's industrialisation and support local businesses.

While letter of credit (L/C) processing and management workflows have remained largely unchanged for decades, the surrounding ecosystem has recently undergone significant transformation, according to an article written by Amey Prabhu.

US President Donald Trump's efforts to suspend US development aid payments pending a comprehensive review have been compromised by financial obligations, including letters of credit (L/Cs), that have already been entered into by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

This document contains the Guidance Paper on the Use of Sanctions Clauses in Trade Finance-related Instruments Subject to ICC Rules (2014) and the Addendum to Guidance Paper (2020)

You can read the paper here

BCR proudly announces the launch of the World Supply Chain Finance Report 2025 (WSCFR25), a definitive resource offering unparalleled insights into the evolving landscape of global supply chain finance (SCF). Edited by Michael Bickers, the report examines key trends, regional performance metrics, and emerging challenges, providing a holistic view of the sector's trajectory amid economic shifts, digital transformation, and growing ESG priorities.

Lloyd's List Intelligence has reported that ship recycling levels in 2024 reached the lowest point since 2005. The decline was driven by several interconnected factors, including increasingly difficult economic, financial, and regulatory environments.

A group of trade and technology veterans have set out plans to develop an open-source protocol that bridges gaps between different platforms, banks, buyers, sellers and other parties seeking to digitalise trade.

The project will be undertaken by the Verifiable.Trade Foundation (VTF), a Basel-headquartered organisation formally launched this week.

Egypt's new commodities importer has asked Russian grain exporters to come up with ways to reduce transaction costs on wheat deals, according to Dubai-based publication Asharq Business.

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

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Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) has announced the launch of its digital letter of credit (L/C) platform that eliminates the need for customers to visit the bank.

South Korea's Shinhan Bank has responded to the weakening of the won and volatile economic conditions by extending the maturity of letters of credit (L/Cs) and providing additional funding for businesses paying for L/Cs.

Lithium Americas and General Motors Holdings (GM) have entered into a new investment agreement to establish a joint venture (JV) for the purpose of funding, developing, constructing and operating the Thacker Pass lithium project in the US state of Nevada.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is launching Project Aperta to explore how to reduce frictions and costs in global finance by enabling seamless cross-border data portability.

Mizuho Bank and Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) and have jointly announced a landmark collaboration agreement for enhanced correspondent bank network connectivity for international trade.

Director of business development for financial services at Microsoft, Peter Hazou, has been explaining how the global technology giant has been working with partners to develop new letter of credit (L/C) and other trade finance solutions.

Founder and chairman of Bangladesh-based Nassa Group, Nazrul Islam Mazumder has been accused of being involved in laundering US$3 million to the US through trade-based money laundering (TBML).

Technical Advisory Briefing from the ICC Banking Commission.

Latest Technical Advisory Briefing #11 - Definition of Trade Finance is now available under the Digital Library.

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.

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.

Technical Advisory Briefing from the ICC Banking Commission.

Latest Technical Advisory Briefing #10 - Acceptance or rejection of an amendment, by a beneficiary, under a documentary credit issued subject to UCP 600 is now available under the Digital Library.

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.

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) and WaveBL have announced a new partnership today, which is set to provide fresh opportunities for the global maritime industry to enhance operational efficiency, improve security, and alleviate the burden of regulatory compliance through the digitalisation of electronic Bills of Lading (eBLs) and associated trade documents.

WaveBL, a leading blockchain platform specialising in the digitalisation of trade documents, is expanding its international network to support the swift, effective, and economical distribution of eBLs across the globe.

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

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.

Speaking at a congress in St Petersburg organised by Russian monetary policymakers, Farzin is also urging BRICs countries to create their own independent entities to replace the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the SWIFT messaging platform.

Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have jointly provided US$150m in supply chain financing to support Vietnamese coffee-exporting SMEs. This initiative, the first of its kind between IFC and a local bank, aims to integrate these enterprises into the global agricultural supply chain.

The programme will initially fund coffee exporters and later expand to other sectors, enhancing private sector access to global markets. VPBank leverages its SME expertise to offer preferential financing, while IFC connects local suppliers with large international buyers and advises on sustainable finance and supply chain practices.

Surecomp has announced the completion of successful electronic bills of lading (eBL) transactions bringing together multiple parties via its collaborative trade finance platform, RIVO.

Banks can use RIVO as a centralised hub to access all their eBL providers in the same workflow to seamlessly connect their eBLs to letters of credit (L/Cs).

India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating an alleged fraud related to Chadalavada Infratech Limited (CIL) and its executives who are suspected of using letters of credit (L/Cs) to fraudulently obtain the equivalent of US$23 million.

The investigation follows a complaint by State Bank of India (SBI) alleging the siphoning of funds, cheating and criminal conspiracy resulting in loss of public money of the same amount.

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has denied leave to appeal the recent ruling by the Alberta Court of Appeal (ABCA) in the case of Pacific Atlantic Pipeline Construction (PAPC) versus Coastal GasLink Pipeline (CGL).

In this ruling, the ABCA refused to prevent CGL from drawing on a letter of credit (L/C) provided by PAPC pending the conclusion of arbitration between the two companies.

The US' Bureau of Business and Security (BIS) has issued an anti-boycott advisory regarding Turkey that could impact on letter of credit (L/C) business written between the US and Turkey.

This follows the announcement by the Turkish government to suspend all exports to and imports from Israel until the Israeli government permits an uninterrupted and adequate flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Responding to popular demand, BCR has announced the addition of an Artificial Intelligence for Receivables Finance (AI4RF) seminar to its highly anticipated RFIx24 agenda.

Scheduled for May 23rd at Clifford Chance in London, the AI4RF seminar comes as a timely exploration into the potential impact of AI on receivables finance. This event follows the second day of RFIx 2024, providing attendees with an invaluable opportunity to delve into the evolving landscape of receivables finance.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Singapore-based DBS have signed a US$500 million facility under the IFC's Global Trade Liquidity Programme (GTLP).

The facility can support letters of credit (L/Cs) and aims to promote capital and trade flows in emerging markets across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

In an era where environmental concerns are at the forefront of global discussions, the maritime industry, often seen as a major contributor to pollution, is under increasing pressure to adopt sustainable practices.

With approximately 90% of global trade relying on maritime transport, finding ways to mitigate the environmental impact of shipping has become imperative. Fortunately, innovative approaches are emerging, offering hope for a more sustainable future in the shipping industry.

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

Latest Technical Advisory Briefing #9 - "Direct presentation of documents to an Issuing Bank under a documentary credit subject to UCP 600" is now available under the Digital Library.

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If its advocates are to be believed, the technology known as Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) will in due course transform nearly everything we do in the modern world today. And to an extent, since the advent of ChatGPT by OpenAI in November 2022 it already has: entire industries are now managed differently including education, coding and research.

There are as many, if not more examples of where the hype has exceeded the reality of the (lack of) value added. And of course, there have been dangers released in the latest technical revolution, such as breaches of personal privacy, generation of misinformation and malign use by bad actors and autocratic governments (not to mention the threat of the robot apocalypse).

The World Supply Chain Finance Report 2024 aims to offer an insight and review of the global supply chain finance market, through both regional and specialist articles contributed by industry experts.

For the purposes of this Report, the term ‘supply chain finance’ has been predominantly used to signify an arrangement whereby a supplier’s invoices are approved by a large buyer for financing by a bank or other financer; also known as reverse factoring, and approved payables finance.

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The global letter of credit (L/C) confirmation market generated US$3.91 billion in 2020. It is projected to generate US$5.09 billion by 2031, and grow at an annual rate of 2.7 per cent between 2021 and 2030, according to a new report published by Allied Market Research.

The report takes a look at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the L/C confirmation market, and analyses leading market players, including Bank of America, Citigroup, DBS Bank, JPMorgan Chase, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank, Scotiabank and Standard Chartered.

Following on from our first predictions article, the incremental gains for credit insurance, trade and supply chain finance, TFG surveyed 9 more industry experts looking at what we might expect for technology for trade, treasury and payments in 2024.

As we ring in the new year, the trade, treasury, and payments is indeed poised for another year of significant evolution.

At Trade Finance Global (TFG), we have gathered insights from industry experts to forecast the developments and challenges these sectors will face in the coming year. Their collective wisdom sheds light on the overarching trends and expected transformations across several key areas.

Egypt's struggles to obtain sufficient foreign currency liquidity to establish and maintain a sustainable flow of import letters of credit (L/Cs) has prompted several private and state-owned Egyptian companies to sell parts of their businesses to foreign buyers to access US dollars.

The shortage of foreign currency, exacerbated by commodity price hikes since the Russia-Ukraine war, prompted the authorities working through the central bank to use a range of controls over L/Cs with the aim of shoring up Egypt's foreign reserves.

Two more African banks have signed up for facilities provided by development institutions that guarantee trade finance instruments, including letters of credit (L/Cs).

Agreements with Ecobank Malawi and Bank of Africa Tanzania Limited (BOAT) follow hot on the heels of the African Development Bank's (AfDB's) approval of a US$7 million trade finance transaction guarantee facility for NBS Bank in Malawi (DC World News, 20 December 2023).

The Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) has released an updated version of its guidelines to help respondents establish and maintain correspondent banking relationships necessary for letter of credit (L/C) amongst other international financial transactions and banking services for other financial institutions.

The BAFT Respondent's Playbook 2.0: A Correspondent Banking Relationship Guide is intended as a roadmap for respondent banks on international anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standards.

Lawyers at Singaporean law firm Shook Lin & Bok have published a summary and commentary on the recent decision in the case of Winson Oil Trading versus Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore).

The Singapore High Court allowed the banks' defences to non-payment on letters of credit (L/Cs) on grounds of fraud. The claim against Standard Chartered was for around US$30.4 million.

BNP Paribas announces the granting of three Inclusive & Sustainability-Linked Financing, which include environmental, social and just transition objectives, to microfinance institutions in Europe and Brazil:

L’Adie in France: Since its creation in 1989, over 180,000 entrepreneurs in France have received financing. As part of its Inclusive & Sustainability-Linked Financing (ISLF), several objectives are monitored: Number of professional loans to women, number of loans to entrepreneurs from priority neighborhoods of the city and welfare recipients; share of microloans that finance the environmental transition of its clients; reduction of the carbon footprint of its activities. PerMicro in Italy: Founded in 2007, PerMicro grants microloans to entrepreneurs and households throughout Italy. As part of its Inclusive & Sustainability-Linked Financing (ISLF), several objectives are monitored: Volume of microloans to microenterprises run by young people and women; value of the portfolio dedicated to financing green technologies and practices, including sustainable mobility, energy efficiency and renewable energies; volume of loans with environmental impact and climate vulnerability assessment.

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.

The guidance issued jointly by the US Bureau of Industry and Security and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) also introduces a new SAR key term, 'FIN-2023-GLOBALEXPORT', which US financial institutions should reference when reporting suspicious activity to FinCEN.

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.

Yet the ICC Trade Register Report 2023, led by the ICC's banking commission in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group and Global Credit Data, reports just a small increase in default rates across documentary trade and open account offerings and demonstrates the low risk nature of the transactions that enable global trade.

BNP Paribas announces the granting of three Inclusive & Sustainability-Linked Financing, which include environmental, social and just transition objectives, to microfinance institutions in Europe and Brazil:

L’Adie in France: Since its creation in 1989, over 180,000 entrepreneurs in France have received financing. As part of its Inclusive & Sustainability-Linked Financing (ISLF), several objectives are monitored: Number of professional loans to women, number of loans to entrepreneurs from priority neighborhoods of the city and welfare recipients; share of microloans that finance the environmental transition of its clients; reduction of the carbon footprint of its activities. PerMicro in Italy: Founded in 2007, PerMicro grants microloans to entrepreneurs and households throughout Italy. As part of its Inclusive & Sustainability-Linked Financing (ISLF), several objectives are monitored: Volume of microloans to microenterprises run by young people and women; value of the portfolio dedicated to financing green technologies and practices, including sustainable mobility, energy efficiency and renewable energies; volume of loans with environmental impact and climate vulnerability assessment.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has greenlit a $300 million policy-driven loan. This endeavour assists the Philippine government in establishing a resilient institutional and policy backdrop, aiming to augment Filipinos’ access to financial services.

The primary focus is on the nation’s vulnerable demographic, ultimately fostering economic expansion.

ADB’s Inclusive Finance Development Program, Subprogram 3, champions reforms that amplify financial inclusivity in the Philippines. This encompasses refining the nation’s financial infrastructure, broadening the scope of digital financing, and bolstering the potential of various financial service providers.

The Port of Savannah in the US state of Georgia is being used as an exit point for luxury cars to be shipped to Africa and the Middle East in trade-based money laundering (TBML) schemes, according to US customs and border protection officials.

Luxury cars are chosen by criminals to be bought and sold internationally because it gives them the opportunity to use complex international trade networks for money laundering while the third busiest seaport in the US provides plenty of cover for criminal activities.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$300m policy-based loan to support the Philippine government in creating a stronger institutional and policy environment to help expand Filipinos’ access to financial services, particularly the vulnerable segment of the population, and to promote economic growth.

ADB’s Inclusive Finance Development Program, Subprogram 3, is supporting reforms to expand financial inclusion in the country by improving the country’s financial infrastructure, including widening the digital financing ecosystem. It also supports efforts to increase the capacity of financial service providers, including rural banks and nonbank financial institutions, to offer quality products and services accessible through various delivery channels.

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

Jetties designated for handling container vessels are remaining empty as fewer vessels arrive at Chittagong while the port's ambitious expansion programme is being thwarted by the government's austerity measures.

Lloyds Bank has completed what it believes to be the first transaction under the UK’s new Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA) which came into force today [20 September 2023].

The ETDA gives electronic Bills of Exchange, Bills of Lading and other commercial documents the same legal footing as paper documents. The legislation is designed to give UK businesses and participants in the 60-80% of trade transactions worldwide that are subject to English law, more flexibility in how they trade. The Act will also significantly reduce the environmental impact that paper documentation has, while reducing the cost and time taken to conclude international trade transactions.

The Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA) has come into force today.

The new law represents a huge step forward into digitalisation of trade flows by eliminating paper flow documents and increase efficiency and transparency. This new act is not imposing the use of electronic documents and is allowing paper ones to circulate as well. In case of the use of electronic documents, they should be stored on a ‘reliable system’ that will permit verification of the authenticity, integrity and singularity of the documents.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor, Jameel Ahmad, has told a senate committee that letters of credit (L/Cs) ensured that loans made under the concessionary Temporary Economic Refinance Facility (TERF) to some businesses during the Covid pandemic were not used for any purpose other than for purchasing plant and machinery.

The senate's standing committee on finance and revenue had raised questions over the transparency of over US$3 billion of loans approved under the TERF. Members suspected that some funds had been misdirected and expressed concerns over the central bank's weak oversight of the funds.

A judge in a Canadian court case has ruled that a thumbs-up emoji constituted a legally binding acceptance of a contract, ordering the defendant, who failed to fulfil their end of the deal, to pay more than $82,000 in damages.

In November 2021, buyer South West Terminal Ltd (SWT) sought to purchase 87 metric tonnes of flax from seller Achter Land & Cattle Ltd at a price of $669.17 per tonne.

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has concluded an extensive study titled “Enhancing Economic Efficiency of SMEs in Pakistan”, identifying barriers to competition, and providing recommendations for improving the economic efficiency of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The study is based on data from 50 Financial Institutions (FIs), 18 focused group discussions, and 362 SMEs across 11 cities and a seminar conducted by CCP on women entrepreneurs.

A court in the US state of New Jersey has sentenced two men to prison for their parts in a US$1 million up-front fee fraud that centred on a purported standby letter of credit (L/C) that the fraudsters said would help their victims import gold.

Roy Gillar was sentenced to six years in prison while Harold Mignott faces three years in jail. A co-defendant, Jerrid Douglas is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

A businessman has been accused by India's enforcement directorate (ED) of using fraudulent letters of credit (L/Cs) and a network of shell companies to cheat banks out of the equivalent of around US$6.8 billion.

The accusations follow the arrest last week of promoter and former managing director of Bhushan Steel, Neeraj Singhal. He has been remanded in custody until 20 June.

Thailand's Bangkok Bank and Indonesia's Permata Bank have collaborated to complete a blockchain letter of credit (L/C) transaction in the Thai-Indonesian chemical market.

The digitalisedL/C transaction also aligns with the concept of green business for sustainable growth according to Bangkok Bank.

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India's ICICI Bank is adding a rupee vostro account (RVA) to its digital online trade platform that includes letter of credit (L/C) functionality according to an official statement.

The proposition will enable Indian exporters and importers to pay and settle export-import transactions in Indian rupees (INR) with RVAs that can be opened with correspondent banks in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Gulf.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is continuing its efforts to facilitate letter of credit (L/C) flows in Africa by approving a trade finance transaction guarantee facility for Banque Commerciale du Burundi (Bancobu).

The facility is one of the AfDB's responses to concerns about shrinking L/C availability in Africa since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 led to stricter compliance requirements that prompted some international banks to exit African markets. This process was accelerated by the 2008 financial crisis and, most recently, by the Covid pandemic.

A court in London gave judgment last week in favour of Celestial Aviation Services in its case against UniCredit after determining that the aircraft lessor made valid demands under letters of credit (L/Cs) last year while UniCredit's view that the demands were invalid was wrong.

The commercial court found that a German unit of Italy's UniCredit was wrong to withhold US$68 million in payment guarantees owed to Celestial claiming that it was prohibited from making payments because of sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU, the UK and US following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Asian Development Bank has published a white paper on deep-tier supply chain finance (DTSCF), which potentially extends financing access and transparency down the chain to even the smallest suppliers.

The paper includes analysis of the role and different approaches of fintechs Skuchain, Banco and KashBank may take in the global realisation of this digital financial solution that can involve letters of credit (L/Cs).

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has published a compendium of four guidance papers on documentary credit usage for trade finance practitioners.

The papers contemplate requirements for on board notation; the principle of strict compliance; use of drafts under documentary credits, and simple documentary credit format.

Insufficient industry support for their digital venture has caused international shipping giant A P Moller - Maersk (Maersk) and IBM to abandon their joint Tradelens blockchain-based supply chain platform initiative for international shipping.

Until recently the initiative has been working with banks and other partners on solutions combining digital letters of credit (L/Cs) with other trade finance instrument issuance, including the Tradelens electronic bill of lading (eBL) that aimed to simplify the issuance, transfer and surrender of original shipping documents by digitising the transfer of title process.

Green trade under the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD's) Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) is growing, according to the bank's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report 2021.

Published to coincide with the COP 27 climate change conference in Egypt this month, the bank's third annual TCFD report discloses EBRD's climate risk assessment methodologies and initial portfolio risk assessments.

While earlier efforts to link sustainable trade finance principles with letters of credit (L/Cs) failed to gain traction, L/Cs in financings with clear climate targets are gradually emerging.

But unlike the capital markets that have the Green Bond Principles and the debt markets have the Green Loan Principles to guide best practice, sustainable trade finance lacks common standards and market definition.

The Roadmap and Vision for Industry, Policymakers, and Traders Worldwide - is the first output of a newly-launched ICC project aiming to align on a consistent definition of sustainable trade and trade finance, set out what specifically constitutes a sustainable trade transaction, and propose a framework and assessment methodology to qualify trade transactions for this purpose.

The first stone of the project is the positioning paper which is laying ground on the definitions of sustainable trade and trade finance, a comparison with other sustainability measures and why those can or cannot be applied for trade finance.