Corporate and
Investment Banking
Risk-based solutions to support trade finance
for global financial institutions in Africa
Solutions to support trade finance
Standard Bank – your trade partner in, for and across Africa
Risk-based solutions to support
trade finance for global financial
institutions in Africa
At Standard Bank, we understand your need to manage
the risks inherent in cross-border trade, across multiple
jurisdictions. We provide you with expert advice and trusted
solutions to manage the complexities, regulations and
risks across your trade finance requirements across Africa.
Standard Bank is one of the largest banks in Africa in terms
of assets and earnings, and is uniquely placed to provide
you with access to trade finance solutions in our presence
countries in Africa.
As a leading financial services group, Standard Bank
follows worldwide compliance and screening protocols
and has extensive access to capital and funding. With our
wide network of correspondent banking relationships,
relationship-managed accounts and key strategic
partnerships, we provide solutions that meet the full range
of your needs.
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Solutions to support trade finance
We issue irrevocable reimbursement undertakings, which
can be used as security when the nominated confirming/
negotiating bank engages itself to your letter of credit.
This service is suitable for high-value transactions and
particularly for situations where:
We are continuously evolving to align ourselves to partners
outside of Africa, to secure the key trade flows into Africa.
Our strength lies in our strong knowledge and focus
on key sectors in Africa, across oil and gas, power and
infrastructure, mining and metals, natural resources and
agriculture. Leveraging our size and strength, we harness
our ability to risk enhance African trade paper and finance
capabilities to be the hub for African banks importing from
key financial centres.
Documentary credit confirmation and bill avalisation
In choosing Standard Bank as your partner, you receive
dependable and efficient services that are scalable and
based on sound experience and regional expertise. With
an on-the-ground presence in 20 countries across Africa,
we assist you to transact with ease across a variety of local
regulations and conditions.
Based on our understanding of local markets, regulations
and risk profiles, we support your requirements in providing
trade financing and refinancing facilities.
Fast, efficient and reliable trade
finance solutions
Our product offering centres on risk and finance solutions
to support financial institutions.
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As a key strategic partner in the financial services industry,
we work to manage your concerns when trading in Africa.
Depending on your and your clients’ needs, we mitigate
your counterparty and country risk by confirming letters of
credit and avalising bills of exchange.
Trade financing and refinancing
This enables you to facilitate loan extensions to your clients
over a pre-agreed period where they are requested to issue
sight/short-dated tenor letters of credit.
Irrevocable reimbursement undertaking
Standard Bank is considered the leader in providing
undertakings on behalf of African financial institutions.
This gives you the support and confidence you need in
conducting your trade transactions.
•
the exporter’s preferred confirming bank requires
security before adding its confirmation and has no
line availability
•
the letter of credit issuing bank does not wish to
encumber cash unnecessarily in a collateral account
with the exporter’s preferred confirming bank
•
the exporter’s preferred confirming bank wishes to
syndicate a deal among a number of banks that may
have appetite on the issuing bank and chooses not to
offer the risk under a risk participation structure.
Risk participation and distribution
Standard Bank is in a position to enter into risk sharing on
both the buy and sell side of trade transactions.
We subscribe to the Bankers Association for Finance and
Trade (BAFT) Master Participation Agreement and have
signed agreements with 80 partners globally. It provides us
with the opportunity to buy and sell trade-related risks.
Our distribution units are located in major financial centres
like London and Johannesburg to ensure maximum access
to potential investors.
Guarantee gateway and direct guarantee re-issuance
With Standard Bank as your partner, you are able to manage
risk, and improve efficiencies and client services through a
centralised environment with risk-free access into Africa.
We are able to reissue guarantees against your bank’s
counter-guarantee through a central gateway. You can register
as an authorised user of the programme or use it on an ad hoc
basis. No volume commitment is required in either option, but
formal registration does provide a number of benefits.
In addition to our gateway offering, should your institution be
willing to foster direct relationships with our various African
entities, we can provide re-issuance on the same service
principles as the gateway, except that re-issuance will be
directly through our respective operations in each country.
This offering is still coordinated through the same centralised
team to ensure consistency in delivery of service and pricing.
Why choose Standard Bank?
• We offer holistic African transactional banking solutions
to global financial institutions via single bank-to-bank
relationships. This not only simplifies stakeholder
relationship management for our clients, but also
reduces operational risk, including counterparty,
sovereign and Know Your Customer risk. This gives you
a single point of entry into the African region.
• Standard Bank’s expanding geographical footprint
provides regional solutions through our network of
almost 1 280 branches in 20 African countries.
• We tailor products and services to meet your specific
requirements, and offer a range of solutions to cater
for conventional payments and basic paper-based
transactions. To help streamline the process, we use
standard agreements and documentation.
• Our centralised client service unit has a dedicated
division that deals exclusively with our financial institution
clients. The team is highly knowledgeable in all aspects of
trade, including document checking and the application
of uniform customs and practise (UCP) rules.
• We provide one point of contact to address any issues
(via email or telephone) through dedicated regional
trade sales managers.
• We offer a centralised pricing methodology.
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• Standard Bank is a member of, and direct participant
in, all payment systems in the various markets where
we operate. We have good and long-established
relationships with the regulators in these regions.
• With strong on-the-ground teams, we have expert
local knowledge of the various legislative environments
and so help our clients reduce the costs of compliance
across multiple countries.
Contact us for information on
expert trade services in, for and
across Africa
For further information on any of our products and
services, contact:
• We provide the guidance and services you need to
navigate approvals, where required, for you to comply
with varying regulatory environments across Africa.
TPS Bank Sector Trade Finance
• Standard Bank is one of the top 20 global SWIFT users,
with an extensive connectivity network in Africa and
abroad. We facilitate transactions through SWIFT using
standard formatting.
Dion van der Merwe
Telephone: +27 11 721 8096
Email: [email protected]
Head: Trade Finance Sales
• Our trade processing centre offers 24-hour turnaround
times on processing and uses leading technology
with scanning and electronic filing capabilities. Our
operations services are ISO 9001:2008 certified
by DQS.
• We are both an originator of primary trade business in
Africa as well as a distributor of secondary market bank
sector trade assets.
• We are a confirming bank under the International
Finance Corporation Global Trade Finance Program.
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Authorised financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP15)
The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (Registered Bank) Reg. No. 1962/000738/06 SBSA 182809-7/14
Disclaimer
This document has been prepared solely for information purposes by The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, acting through its Corporate and Investment Bank Division (“SBSA”). Any
indicative terms provided to you are provided for your information and do not constitute an offer, a solicitation of an offer, invitation to acquire any security or to enter into any agreement,
or any advice or recommendation to conclude any transaction (whether on the indicative terms or otherwise). Any information, indicative price quotations, disclosure materials or analyses
provided to you have been prepared on assumptions and parameters that reflect good faith determinations by us or that have been expressly specified by you and do not constitute advice by
us and it should not be relied upon as such. The information, assumptions and parameters used are not the only ones that might reasonably have been selected and therefore no guarantee is
given as to the accuracy, completeness, or reasonableness of any such information, quotations, disclosure or analyses. No representation or warranty is made that any indicative performance
or return indicated will be achieved in the future. This document is not an official confirmation of terms, and any transaction that may be concluded pursuant to this document shall be
in terms of and confirmed by the signing of appropriate documentation, on terms to be agreed between the parties. The information in the document is also subject to change without
notice. SBSA, or an associated company, may have effected or may effect transactions for its own account in any investment outlined in the document or any investment related to such an
investment. Prospective investors should obtain independent advice in respect of any product detailed in this document, as SBSA provides no investment, tax or legal advice and makes no
representation or warranty about the suitability of a product for a particular client or circumstance. Transactions described in this material may give rise to substantial risk and are not suitable
for all investors. SBSA will only provide investment advice if specifically agreed to by SBSA in appropriate documentation, signed by SBSA. This information is to be used at your own risks, and
SBSA makes no representation with regards to the correctness of the information herein.
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