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Saturday 6 September 2014

Making Maximum Use Of The Standby Letter Of Credit

By Kerri Stout


Contractual and financial agreements require a guarantee or security that the obligation will be fulfilled. The backup plan comes in the form of a standby letter of credit. It substitutes what your bank would offer as guarantee for a project or a financial transaction that relies on goodwill to deliver.

The industries that commonly use this as collateral include shipment, service delivery and construction. It is issued from a bank or financing institution to confirm that you will still get your payments if the contractor, supplier or service provider fails to honor his obligation. For international transactions, the letter is best issued by a financial institution that is accredited to operate in both jurisdictions.

The bank issuing the guarantee knows your contractor or supplier and can easily recover the money in case he defaults. It has evaluated his creditworthiness and known how much they can cover. This makes it difficult for the contractor to default since he will face penalties.

A contractor carrying out a project in Dubai would be required to provide a guarantee that it will be completed according to desired standards and in time. Failure to fulfill these terms would mean that the investor looses on revenue from the project. If the contractor abandons the project, it would force the investor to hire another firm. The bank reimburses the money to cover for lost time and facilitate completion.

The letters are cushions against breached trust. There are reasons why the contractor may fail to pay in case the transaction or project does not go as planned. He is likely to be waiting for his customers to pay him and is therefore facing a financial crunch. You are assured that you have a buffer for your finances and projects.

Some suppliers have gone out of business before fulfilling their obligations. It is extremely difficult for a client to recover his money or attach assets because of a limited jurisdiction or resources. The recovery process might require a lot of money, other resources and time. Financial institutions and banks have a legal mandate, the resources and time to recover the funds.

Political unrest is likely to have caused the assets of your contractor to be frozen. Disagreements might arise causing the project to stall. You will require a mechanism to recover your money. This is provided by the bank issuing the credit guarantee. Some contractors are also dishonest and intentionally fail to deliver on their contracts. It is easier for the bank to follow-up the cash.

The bank requires its client to fulfill certain conditions before granting the letter. As the claimant, you must produce evidence that the contract was bleached and you therefore deserve the compensation. It is however worth noting that such steps are taken in rare and extreme cases.

Standby letters are mainly used for domestic trade while commercial letters suit international trade environment. It is the bank that issues you with the letter under certain terms and conditions. It does not matter the scale of contract you are handling. The safest and most prudent way to do business is to ask for a guarantee.




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