Letter of credit: Difference between revisions

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imported>Doug Williamson
m (Link with Usance letter of credit page.)
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* [[Confirming bank]]
* [[Confirming bank]]
* [[Credit]]
* [[Credit]]
* [[Deferred payment letter of credit]]
* [[Documentary collection]]
* [[Documentary collection]]
* [[Documentary credit]]
* [[Documentary credit]]
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* [[Issuing bank]]
* [[Issuing bank]]
* [[LOC backed]]
* [[LOC backed]]
* [[Revocable letter of credit]]
* [[Standby letter of credit]]
* [[Standby letter of credit]]
* [[Term letter of credit]]
* [[Time letter of credit]]
* [[Trade finance]]
* [[Trade finance]]
* [[Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits]]
* [[Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits]]
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===Other links===
==External link==
[http://voxeu.org/article/trade-finance-around-world Trade finance around the world, Centre for Economic and Policy Research, 2016]
[http://voxeu.org/article/trade-finance-around-world Trade finance around the world, Centre for Economic and Policy Research, 2016]



Revision as of 11:52, 6 July 2022

(LC or sometimes LOC).

A promise document issued by a bank or another issuer to a third party to make a payment on behalf of a customer in accordance with specified conditions.

Letters of credit are frequently used in international trade to make funds available in a foreign location.


Letter of credit contrasted with documentary collection

Letters of credit are often contrasted, from the perspective of a seller, with an alternative structure of documentary collections.

A letter of credit is a direct obligation of a bank to pay (against specified documents).

A documentary collection means a bank collecting payment from the buyer (by presenting documents to the buyer).


A letter of credit therefore gives superior protection to the seller against credit risk or delayed cash flow, or both.

For this reason letters of credit are more expensive to arrange.


Compared with documentary collections (DCs), letters of credit (LCs) are used for larger transactions, and a larger total value of transactions.

LC and DC indicative data is summarised below.

Average transaction sizes (US exports)

LCs: US$ 0.5 - 1 million

DCs: US$ 0.1 - 0.2 million

Proportion of world trade in goods

LCs: 10 - 15%

DCs: 1 - 2%


See also


External link

Trade finance around the world, Centre for Economic and Policy Research, 2016