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............

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

An opinion about the originality in shipping documents (UCP 600) II

Banks nowadays demand the entire set as a precaution against fraud.Therefore, a buyer, if properly advised, will ask for a provision in the sale contract giving him the entire set of B/Ls or risk being in breach if the bank rejects a tender of less than the entire set.If banks would, instead of demanding a full set of B/Ls, encourage merchants and carriers to use a single original B/L, the market could move away from the practice of dealing with multiple original B/Ls. This should ultimately lead to an outcome in which carriers will issue only one original B/ L, which would reduce considerably the risk of fraud arising from the 'loop hole„ opened up by sub-article 20(b) of UCP 500.

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.

An opinion about the originality in shipping documents (UCP 600)

In UCP 600 articles 20 and 23 of UCP 500 became articles 17 and 20, and the wording of these articles has been amended to some degree. However, the outcome did not change materially-sub article 17(c) (iii) still states; "Unless a document indicates otherwise, a bank will also accept a document as original if it..... states that it is original, unless the statement appears not to apply to the document".The wording of the new sub-article 17 acknowledges that sonic documents marked as "Original" may not be originals, but it still requires banks to treat any documents, including copies of B/Ls which are marked as "Original", as original documents when there is no reason to doubt that the marking refers to some other document.

Shipping documents, and in particular B/Ls, would be more attractive as security if sub-article 20(a) (iv) of UCP 600 took precedence over article 17. In other words article 17 should not be applicable to B/Ls.
'think a situation in which a B/ L states that three original B/Ls were issued when the first B/L tendered to the bank as a genuine original and the second and the third are just copies stamped as "Original". These tendered documents are neither discrepant nor inconsistent, and they are in compliance with the requirements set out in the L/ C and UCP 600, putting the document checker in to an 'unsure state.

The risk remains that the security for the L/C, the shipped goods, will be demanded by a third party in possession of a "missing" genuine original B/L, defeating the banks security.

Difficulties arise when the appearance of the document tendered to the bank is such that the bank cannot determine conclusively whether such document is a copy or an original. Unlike carriers, who know exactly what their shipping documents look like, document checkers have no way of verifying
(i) who stamped the copy as original
(ii) whether the B/L is forged or not and, most importantly,
(iii) whether there are more genuine originals outstanding.

LC COURT CASES: AN INTERESTING DECISION BY HONG KONG HIGH COURT

Total Energy Asia Limited Vs Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited


The Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd had added their confirmation to a Credit issued by an Indian Bank. The beneficiary is Total Energy Asia Ltd and the Credit requests a full set of original charter party Bill of Lading on FOB terms. The Total Energy Asia had presented the documents through another Bank. The documents were discrepant. The Total Energy had instructed the confirming bank not to send out the discrepant documents until the Issuing Bank waived all discrepancies. After two presentations, the documents were still discrepant. The Confirming Bank had listed out the discrepancies and faxed it to the presenting bank. The fax message did not stipulate the words “reject” or “refuse”. On the same day the Confirming Bank called up the Presenting Bank and verbally informed the presenting bank that they were rejecting the documents and asked whether to do cable negotiation or send the documents to issuing bank on Collection Basis as requested by the issuing bank. Despite the acceptance of discrepancy notice by the presenting bank, the beneficiary Total Energy Asia Ltd decided to sue the confirming bank on the ground that the rejection notice sent out by the confirming bank by fax is defective, as the notice did not stipulate the words “reject” or “refuse”.

It was several years later, and by that time the two concerned employees who had communicated by telephone had left their respective banks and not available for evidence. The Judge relied on the testimony of the two concerned employees and made the ruling that as a matter of law, the fax sent and followed by a telephone call would constitute a valid rejection.

After 1st July 2007, the lapses of this nature would not be occurred as Article 16.C of ICC Uniform Customs & Practice for Documentary Credits 2007 Revision No. 600 states that …… when a nominated bank acting on its nomination, a confirming bank if any, or the issuing bank decides to refuse to honour or negotiate, it must give a single notice to that effect to the presenter.

The notice must state
i. that the bank is refusing to honour or negotiate and
ii. each discrepancy in respect of which the bank refuses to honour or negotiate and ………