Letters of Credit / Guarantees

Companies that engage in cross-border transactions know the risks involved. Letters of credit are not the only payment safeguards.

Companies that deliver top quality on time expect the money in their accounts by the deadline as contractually agreed. But what if the counterparty's payment behavior leaves a lot to be desired? To play it safe, you should secure international transactions. The best option for companies is advance payment, particularly when dealing with new customers. But advance payments are not always feasible everywhere, which is where letters of credit come in.

LBBW offers its customers an end-to-end service for letters of credit (also known as L/C). They are used to safeguard payments in international trade transactions in a number of countries. A letter of credit involves the importer's bank making an abstract promise to pay the exporter. In other words, it is the customer's bank rather than the customer itself who makes the promise. The bank transfers the agreed amount once it has been duly furnished with the accurate documents as agreed in the letter of credit and all the terms and conditions have been complied with.

This is where LBBW comes in. The letter of credit cannot go ahead without the accurate documents being submitted. Which is why we are there to answer all of your questions to help you prepare the required documents. We will provide you with all the forms that you need to open a letter of credit and the forms for submitting documents. We also have a number of checklists for letter of credit transactions available. After all, the devil is in the detail. Our experts are happy to help you fill out the documents correctly. They also carry out a creditworthiness check on your business partner's bank when you open the letter of credit.

Do you have any questions?

Then get in touch with us!

Trade Finance
Phone +49 711 127 78083
tradefinance@lbbw.de