11.3.2 Derivative Roles衍生角色
Other parties are also involved in this process,such as the advising bank,the paying bank,the negotiating bank,the confirming bank,etc.,but their roles are of a derivative nature as they are derived from the basic relationship among the applicant,the issuing bank and the beneficiary.And for cost reasons,some roles are often played by the same party.
♦The advising bank通知行
The advising bank,located in your country,is the one that advises,meaning informs you,that a credit has been issued in your favor and forwards the credit to you.It has no responsibility to make payment unless it also plays the role of a confirming bank or a negotiating bank.It is needed mainly because the credit has to be transmitted through and authenticated by the banking system.There were cases where innocentexporters suffer losses from relying on fraudulent “credits”that are actually sent from post-offices or unknown credit cooperatives.Your bank is often nominated by the issuing bank as the advising bank for convenience and for saving cost.
♦The paying bank付款行
The paying bank is the one nominated by the issuing bank to pay you against your presentation of stipulated documents.In some cases,there is a bank that is willing to accept the nomination,make payment to you and get reimbursement from the issuing bank,such as the advising bank.Otherwise,the issuing bank per se shall act as the paying bank.
♦The negotiating bank议付行
The negotiating bank is the one that buys the set of complying documents at a slightly less value than the face value of the bill of exchange and sells them to the issuing bank at the full amount.It thus makes a profit by buying low and selling high.This role is generally also assumed by the advising bank for convenience.Note that here“negotiate”means “transfer something by selling it”.Negotiating the documents to a willing bank enables you to get the money sooner,though at a slightly smaller amount.
♦The confirming bank保兑行
Sometimes,when the issuing bank is small or less known,you may still feel uncomfortable in doing business with the importer even under a documentary credit.In that case,you may wish to obtain a confirmation to pay from a large or well-known bank.The confirming bank is the one that adds its commitment to honor the credit.Should the issuing bank refuse to pay under a complying presentation,you may claim payment from the confirming bank,which must pay you without recourse.This role could also be played by the advising bank.
As you may have noticed,various derivative roles might exist for a letter of credit—the advising bank,the paying bank,the negotiating bank,the confirming bank and your bank—but in order to speed up transaction and save cost,they all can be assumed by just one party—your bank.