Monday, October 18, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
IFC FIT Initiative- 2010
Dear Nigeria Participants of the IFC FIT Initiative,
I am writing to you to give you a quick reminder that our next intake of the IFC FIT Program will take place from 2 August 2010.
This course as you will already have experienced covers the core areas of Trade Finance in a practical and comprehensive manner.
What you may not realize is that you have access to the eBSI Online Training FOR LIFE!
This means that if you want to revise any part of the course content at www.ebsi-citt.net you can do so with your username and password originally issued to you by us here in eBSI.
You also have access to our online networking platform and updated forums which allow you to discuss international trade issues or practical questions regarding the interpretation of ICC rules with our tutors and your country participants as well as other network members in all the IFC FIT countries (Vietnam , Cambodia , Bangladesh , Pakistan , Nigeria , Kenya , Tanzania , Uganda and Burundi
This is a fantastic resource as I am sure you will agree!
The cost of the whole package normally costs EUR 995 if taken separately outside of the IFC framework which comprises of :
- eBSI Finance of International Trade Course worth EUR 695 including certification and lifetime access
- ICC Online Training in UCP 600 worth EUR 300 for 1 year license
- We are the only training organization to offer live online classes to participants on their program.
- You get lifetime membership and access to training materials including UPDATES when rules change
- Our program not only incorporates ICC training but also carries the endorsement of IFC (International Finance Corporation – part of the world bank)
- Our Participants become a part of a network around the world of dedicated Trade Finance professionals with their own dedicated portal at www.ifcfitinitiative.net
- we really believe in bettering the opportunities for bankers and traders in emerging markets.
- We work constantly to improve the course and our services to you even after you have graduated and completed the FIT Program – with special IFC FIT Network member discounts on other training in related areas.
All this for just EUR 390 per participant. This is not a course fee… its an investment in human potential by banks who enroll their staff into this program with an excellent ROI when you consider the fact we provide lifetime access to the training for participants.
Group discounts can be arranged.
As we now are two weeks away from course start, I invite you to pass this email to your colleagues and invite them to contact me (ts@ebsi.ie) or your local coordinator for further information on this excellent program.
Why not tell your trading customers about the course? We also accept international trade staff who work on trade finance operations for export/import companies.
We are here to serve you, and we hope you will continue to use the forums and content on the online campus at www.ifcfitinitiative.net and www.ebsi-citt.net
If you need username or password reminders just let us know.
Help us spread the word about this fantastic career development opportunity and help us grow our international network of Trade Finance Professionals to which you now belong!
Warmest regards from us all in the eBSI Team!
Thomas Smith
Operations Director
eBSI Export Academy
IFC FIT Initiative
Thursday, July 8, 2010
TRADE FINANCE OFFICER JOB OFFER FROM A EUROPEAN (MALTA) BANK
Main Responsibilities:
- Issuing and advising of Import and Export Documentary Credits and Standby Letters of Credit.
- Reviewing of applications for issuance of Documentary Credits.
- Issuance of Back to Back Documentary Credits.
- Checking of documents under Documentary Credits.
- Processing of all events under Documentary Collections (Import & Export).
- Processing of all events under Guarantees.
- Liaise with customers, buyers, beneficiaries, or other bank staff.
- Understand legal responsibilities relating to Money Laundering.
- Investigate and resolve queries and problems regarding documentation and payments.
- Calculate and review commissions.
Core Competencies:
Knowledge:
- ICC Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP600).
- ICC International Standard Banking Practice (ISBP681).
- ICC International Standby Practices (ISP98).
- ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG458 and URDG758).
- ICC Uniform Rules for Collections (URC522).
- ICC Uniform Rules for Bank-t-Bank Reimbursements (URR725).
- ICC Incoterms 2000.
- Good grasp of supporting documents that fit trading criteria.
Skills:
- Ability to work with all levels of the organisation.
- Able to process complex trade finance instruments.
- Excellent team player.
- Open personality with energy and drive.
- Motivated to succeed.
- Ability to be flexible and work to deadlines.
- Ability to follow procedures.
- Maintain accurate records.
Personal:
Being Proactive – Strives to stay ahead by anticipating rather than reacting; ensures that ones actions are always carefully considered.
Resilience – Have confidence in your ability to achieve ambitious goals and celebrates success; never allows oneself to become arrogant. Possess the ability to cope with rejection.
Problem Solving Style – Identifies, clarifies/defines and works through challenges towards a defined outcome.
Acting with Integrity – Lives the bank’s business model based on trust and integrity as perceived by our stakeholders, especially our customers.
Personal Accountability – Takes full responsibility for ones actions and the impact that you have on others; self driven with a desire to continually grow and improve on your performance. Shows a high degree of self-motivation and ambition.
Valuing Diversity – Demonstrates dignity of all people. Respects others and what the bank stands for. Recognizes that there are corresponding obligations associated with individual rights.
Experience Required:
Proven 3-5 years experience in trade finance products and services, ideally gained in an international banking environment.
Qualifications:
- Educated to bachelor level or similar by experience.
- Fluent in English and at least one other European language.
- Good working knowledge of Microsoft products (Excel, Word, Powerpoint).
Interested candidates should forward their applications and CV to the Nigeria Trade Professional Forum team via:
tradeforumng@gmail.com
TRADE OFFICER JOB OFFER FROM A EUROPEAN (MALTA) BANK
Main Responsibilities:
- Issuing and advising of Import and Export Documentary Credits and Standby Letters of Credit.
- Reviewing of applications for issuance of Documentary Credits.
- Issuance of Back to Back Documentary Credits.
- Checking of documents under Documentary Credits.
- Processing of all events under Documentary Collections (Import & Export).
- Processing of all events under Guarantees.
- Liaise with customers, buyers, beneficiaries, or other bank staff.
- Understand legal responsibilities relating to Money Laundering.
- Investigate and resolve queries and problems regarding documentation and payments.
- Calculate and review commissions.
- ICC Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP600).
- ICC International Standard Banking Practice (ISBP681).
- ICC International Standby Practices (ISP98).
- ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG458 and URDG758).
- ICC Uniform Rules for Collections (URC522).
- ICC Uniform Rules for Bank-t-Bank Reimbursements (URR725).
- ICC Incoterms 2000.
- Good grasp of supporting documents that fit trading criteria.
- Ability to work with all levels of the organisation.
- Able to process complex trade finance instruments.
- Excellent team player.
- Open personality with energy and drive.
- Motivated to succeed.
- Ability to be flexible and work to deadlines.
- Ability to follow procedures.
- Maintain accurate records.
Being Proactive – Strives to stay ahead by anticipating rather than reacting; ensures that ones actions are always carefully considered.
Resilience – Have confidence in your ability to achieve ambitious goals and celebrates success; never allows oneself to become arrogant. Possess the ability to cope with rejection.
Problem Solving Style – Identifies, clarifies/defines and works through challenges towards a defined outcome.
Acting with Integrity – Lives the bank’s business model based on trust and integrity as perceived by our stakeholders, especially our customers.
Personal Accountability – Takes full responsibility for ones actions and the impact that you have on others; self driven with a desire to continually grow and improve on your performance. Shows a high degree of self-motivation and ambition.
Valuing Diversity – Demonstrates dignity of all people. Respects others and what the bank stands for. Recognizes that there are corresponding obligations associated with individual rights.
Experience Required:
Proven 3-5 years experience in trade finance products and services, ideally gained in an international banking environment.
Qualifications:
- Educated to bachelor level or similar by experience.
- Fluent in English and at least one other European language.
- Good working knowledge of Microsoft products (Excel, Word, Powerpoint).
Thursday, July 1, 2010
New rules for demand guarantees effective today (1 July 2010)
Commission on Banking Technique and Practice
Note to Banking Commission members, national committees and groups
New rules for demand guarantees effective today (1 July 2010)
Dear Sir, Madam,
As you know, the new URDG 758 will enter into force today: 1 July 2010. To this effect, we have posted the necessary information on the ICC website (see http://www.iccwbo.org).
Over the last few months, we have embarked on a great deal of communication and media events to promote the new rules. Training workshops have also been carried out all over the world including NIGERIA.
I am sure that the industry is now aware of the new rules. Still, we need to ensure that the industry and users are well aware that the effective implementation date is 1 July 2010.
Thus, I would urge you to disseminate the information to all your networks to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the event and its important consequences. Please consider using the attached text as basis for an email to be sent to as large a network as possible: colleagues within your professional organization, customers, media, regulators, lawyers, etc.
We thank you for all your efforts to help extend the reach of URDG 758.
A copy of this/these document(s) has been posted on the ICC intranet under:
- ICC Public Forums
- Global Intranet
- ICC Policy Commissions and Groups
- Banking Technique and Practice
- Documents for Comments or
- Documents for Information and read only
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
TRADE JOB OFFER FROM A NIGERIAN BANK
JOB TITLE
Trade Product Manager
OBJECTIVE SUMMARY
Manage and support the sale of the following trade products (1) Bills for collection, (2) Exports, (3) Invisibles and (4) Letter of credit, and also ensuring the products volume and income targets are met.
Ensure the effective utilisation of the trade support applications and services to support the above listed product sales.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Ensuring the respective targets and performance indices for each product is achieved.
2. Implementation of the service tier strategy for each product (i.e attending to the needs of the top tier customers for each product)
3. Providing pro-active marketing support to relationship officers by providing marketing tools and making joint marketing calls where required.
4. Raising product awareness for each product
5. Identify and monitor industry and external events (such as competitive initiatives, changing government regulations etc) and provide the bank with business intelligence which will be incorporated into the business strategies to proactively improve the performance of the product
6. Monitoring of customers perceptions/opinions of each product and making recommendations on key issues and following solution recommendations through to post-implementation to ensure that recommended solution and assumptions are valid.
7. Preparation of relevant reports
8. Monitor the quality of product service delivery to ensure the products are delivered in an efficient and cost-effective manner
9. Providing training and product reference materials to enhance product knowledge within the bank, improve sales capability and effectiveness of business development efforts.
10. Tracking and monitoring the trade activity/performance of all customers and the various business developments units, groups and divisions for each product.
11. Identifying gaps and opportunities within each product and its related processes for the purpose of developing and implementing service enhancements/improvements
12. Prompt resolution of all product service issues
13. Constant monitoring and evaluation of the trade support application software platform to ensure it provides the desired benefits to the internal and external customers of each of the products.
14. Provision of trade advisory services to customers and staff of the bank on the respective products via the Diamond trade centre
14. Ensuring the trade support service is effectively utilised to stimulate and drive the sales of the bills for collection and export products.
16. Development and constant monitoring and evaluation of the Easy trade software platform to ensure it provides the desired benefits to our internal and external customers
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
International Operations, Credit Officers, Funds Transfer Officers, Treasury, branch Operations,
Corporate Communications, Admin & General Services, Business Information Systems & E-business support.
KNOWLEDGE SKILL
Relationship Management; Product Management; Basic knowledge of International trade. The others necessary skills include;
Ø Presentation skills,
Ø Report writing skills
Ø General skills
Ø Creativity
Ø Analytical skills
Ø In-depth knowledge of the Bank’s trade products and services
Ø Proficient use of Excel application as an analytical tool
Ø Proficient use of PowerPoint
Ø Sound oral, written and presentation skill.
Ø Good interpersonal skill
KEY MEASURABLES
Achievement of 100% of product income target(s)
Achievement of minimum 85% score in internal and external customer satisfaction surveys
COMPLEXITY/JUDGMENT
The job will require a lot of creativity and strategic thinking; Candidate should be self motivated and focused.
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION
BSc or BA.
EXPERIENCE
4 years experience
Interested candidates should forward their applications and CV to the Nigeria Trade Professional Forum team via : tradeforumng@gmail.com
DOCUMENTARY CREDIT RISKS: RISK TO APPLICANTS
1.1 Short Shipment and Shipment of Inferior Goods
Goods may be short shipped or may be of inferior quality although the presentation of documents compiles with the terms and conditions of the credit. In this event the applicant may suffer a loss on the sale of the goods.To minimize the losses due to the reasons stated above it is important that the applicant makes every attempt to establish the bona fides and the track record of the supplier before entering in to a documentary credit transaction. In this respect some comfort may be obtained by obtaining a hank or credit agency status report on the supplier and also obtaining an independent pre shipment inspection of the goods.
1.2 Non- Delivery of goods
Goods may not be delivered because of fraud by the beneficiary. In such circumstances the applicant may be liable to pay the issuing bank for conforming documents and not be able to sell the goods as anticipated.
1.3 Goods received before the documents under the credit are received by the issuing bank
In these circumstances the applicant may have to take delivery of the goods under a shipping guarantee which may irrevocably bind the applicant to effect payment under the credit irrespective of any discrepancies in the documents received subsequently. Unless the goods are cleared from the port or airport speedily, the port/airport authorities may:
- levy charges, and the rate of charge of the levy may increase with the period for which the goods remain uncleared at the port/airport.
- have authority to confiscate goods after the expiration of a stated statutory period.
1.4 Goods Damaged or lost in transit
Where goods are lost or damaged in transit the owner of the goods at the time of such occurrence will look to their insurers for financial recompense. Applicants should ensure which party is responsible for arranging the insurance cover when agreeing to the terms of the sales contract with the beneficiary, and be satisfied that the level of cover arranged provides an appropriate level of protection.
1.5 Exchange Risk
In Letters of Credits where the currency is not that of the country of the applicant there may be a difference in exchange rates between the time the credit was issued and the time when settlement is made. In case where no Forward Exchange cover is available, the applicant may have to pay more than the anticipated price which may reduce the profit margin or sometimes incur a loss.
Forward foreign exchange contracts may provide a hedge against this risk where such cover is available to the Applicant although the exchange rate of the cover may turn out to be less attractive than the market rate available. This process may, however, lock in the prices and associated profits in a transaction.
RISKS UNDER IMPORT DOCUMENTARY CREDIT TRANSACTIONS
Documentary Credits provides the seller and the buyer with independent assurance in the exchange of goods for payment. The seller has the irrevocable undertaking of the Issuing Bank that the seller will receive payment provided the following conditions are satisfied.
1. The seller presents the documents as stipulated in the credit
2. The terms and conditions of the credit have been complied with.
The buyer, as Applicant of the Credit, has the undertaking of the Issuing Bank that no payment will be made under the credit unless the above conditions are complied with. In view of the comfort provided to both the seller and the buyer by the independent undertaking of the Issuing Bank, Documentary Credits are often a preferred method of payment in International Trade.
The risks under Documentary Credits arise from the complexities involved due to more than one country being involved in a transaction. Thus there may be differences in the laws, customs, governing the international transactions of the countries concerned which may lead to various problems. The major risks involved are as follows. To be Continued............
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
JOB OFFER FROM EMFG IN CANADA
EMFG is a fast growing advisory firm with strategic relationships with partners and firms in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Middle East. We have working relationships with Financial Institutions, key Export Credit Agencies and Multilateral Agencies. We provide advisory services to contracting parties on ways to manage performance risks and payment risks when conducting trade between companies in North America and Emerging Markets.
We organize and conduct corporate training in the areas of Trade Finance, Risk Management, Accounting, Treasury & Liquidity Management and Accounting/ IFRS implementation.
Our business consulting focus is in the area of process, systems and knowledge improvement, systems integration, business intelligence, business and financial analysis.
Job Overview:
We are currently looking for part-time facilitators and trainers in the following specialist areas:
Trade and Commodity Finance
- International Trade Finance
- Trade Products
- Trade Operations
- Trade Sales
- Structured Trade and Commodity Finance
- Trade Finance and Working Capital Management
Language Requirement: One or combination of the followings:
- English
- French
- Portuguese
Job Description:
- Prepare/ update training materials
- Present and facilitate trainings
- Prepare mission report summarizing participants feedback
Job Requirements:
- An undergraduate degree and a Postgraduate degree in Business Administration, Finance, Risk Management or other relevant field
- Preferred designation: CITP, CDCS
- Minimum of 5 years experience in Financial Services Industry
- Experience as a trainer/ course facilitator is a definite asset
- French and/ or Portuguese language skills is an asset and requirements for instructors in these languages
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, detail oriented
- Proficient computer skills and excellent knowledge of Excel, PowerPoint and word
- Expert knowledge of trade finance and correspondent banking programs & products, ECAs and multilateral trade organizations, policies, procedures, electronic applications and relevant legislations concerning international trade.
- Proven experience in identifying, evaluating and designing new and enhanced trade finance and correspondent banking products, programs and solutions as well as identify and develop new markets.
- Thorough knowledge of global international banking environment and its impact on trade and correspondent banking
- Product development/ management experience in financial/ trade services reflecting strategic and innovative skills in identifying new product opportunities and successfully bringing new programs to the market.
- Ability to travel to Africa to deliver training.
- The trainers must have hands-on experience as practitioners and trainers in the identified areas.
Compensation:
Compensation is paid based on daily agreed rates. This is not a permanent Position.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates are encouraged to submit their resume to info@emfgtrade.com
EMFG is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all interested parties. We thank you for your interest, however, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
Website: www.emfgtrade.com
Monday, June 14, 2010
An opinion about the originality in shipping documents (UCP 600) II
It is not entirely clear whether article 17 of UCP 600 should be applicable to B/Ls. A plain reading of the new UCP suggests that article 17 is applicable, because B/Ls are not specifically excluded from the article. So far I presume, there have not been any cases concerning the originality of a B/L, but there are several cases concerning the originality of other documents.
Raymond Jack states in his book "Documentary Credits" that verification of originality will become increasingly difficult as document reproduction technology continues to improve and colour copying becomes commonplace.
This appears to have happened already, which is why Banking Commission should have reacted by clarifying in UCP 600 that article 17 in UCP 600 is not applicable when credit calls for a B/L.
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