International trade and non-trade transactions that occur as a result of claims and debts are received and paid in currency and settled under certain forms and conditions, thus giving rise to the international settlement business. The international settlement method has evolved from the simple cash settlement method to the more sophisticated bank letter of credit method. The receipt and payment of currency forms the flow of funds, which in turn must be achieved through the transmission of various settlement instruments.
Remittance Settlement
Remittance is a form of settlement in which the payer gives the amount due to his correspondent bank and requests the bank to pay the amount to the payee by post instead of himself. The bank receives the request from the payer, receives the money and then in some way notifies the correspondent bank at the payee's location, asking it to pay the same amount to the payee. Finally, the two banks settle the debt between them by means of a prior approach.
The remittance settlement method generally involves four parties, namely the remitter, the payee, the remitter and the remitting bank.
International remittance settlement operations are basically divided into three main categories, namely wire transfer, letter transfer and bill transfer.
Collection and settlement business
Collection is a form of settlement in which a creditor develops a bill of exchange to a foreign debtor in order to collect money from him and entrusts the bank to collect it on his behalf.
There are usually four parties involved in a collection operation, namely the principal, the collecting bank, the collecting bank and the payer.
Western commercial banks handle two major types of international collection services, one is the optical bill collection and the other is the documentary collection.
Settlement business
Letter of credit settlement means that after the import and export parties have signed a sale and purchase contract, the importer takes the initiative to ask the bank at the place of import to open a letter of credit to the exporter to guarantee his payment responsibility. Once the exporter has fulfilled its obligations in accordance with the terms of the L/C, the importer delivers the payment to the exporter through the bank.
There are three basic parties involved in a letter of credit settlement operation, namely the issuing applicant, the beneficiary and the issuing bank.
Guarantee operations
In the international settlement process, banks also often provide guarantees to importers and exporters on their own creditworthiness in order to facilitate a smooth settlement process. There are currently two main forms of guarantees provided for import and export settlements, namely bank guarantees and standby letters of credit.
⒈ Letter of Guarantee
A bank guarantee, also known as a letter of guarantee, is a document issued by the bank to the beneficiary at the request of the principal to guarantee the performance of the guarantor's duties.
2. Stand-by Letter of Credit (SLC)
A Stand-by Letter of Credit is a bank guarantee in the nature of a letter of credit. It is a guarantee document issued by the issuing bank to the beneficiary. It guarantees that the issuer will perform its duties, failing which the bank is responsible for settling the amount owed to the beneficiary.
International credit and investment is an asset business within the international business of commercial banks. International credit and investment are different from domestic asset business. The vast majority of this business is directed at foreign borrowers.
Import and export financing
An important aspect of the international credit activities of commercial banks is the provision of financing for international trade. This financing is provided to both domestic and foreign importers and exporters.
There are many forms of financing provided by commercial banks for import and export trade, the main ones being the following.
Import charge, refers to the import and export sides signed after the sale and purchase contract, the importer request the import place of a bank (generally for their own correspondent bank), to the export side to open a guarantee payment documents, mostly for the letter of credit. The issuing bank then sends this document to the exporter, who witnesses it and then ships the goods to the importer.
In export charge, after the exporter has issued the goods to the importer in accordance with the provisions of the sale and purchase contract, he obtains various documents and, at the same time, develops a bill of exchange to the importer in accordance with the relevant terms.
Other ways of providing financial facilities are packaged lending, acceptance of bills and export loans.
International Lending
International lending is different from domestic lending in terms of lending targets, lending risks and lending methods, as it transcends national boundaries.
The types of international lending by commercial banks can be classified from different perspectives.
(1) Depending on the object of lending, they can be classified as personal lending, corporate lending, interbank lending and lending to foreign governments and central banks.
(2) Depending on the duration of the lending, it can be divided into short-term lending, medium-term lending and long-term lending, and this division of duration is roughly the same as for domestic forms of lending.
(3) Depending on the lending bank, it can be divided into single-bank lending and multi-bank lending. Single bank lending refers to lending funds being provided by only one bank. In general, single bank lending is generally for smaller amounts and shorter terms. There are two main types of multi-bank lending: firstly, participatory lending. Secondly, syndicated lending. III International Eurobonds are by far the most dominant form of international bond. There are many forms of Eurobonds: 1.Ordinary bonds (Straight Band). This is the basic form of Eurobond and is characterized by a fixed interest rate with a clear maturity date. As the interest paid does not rise or fall with changes in interest rates in the financial markets, it affects its issuance when market interest rates fluctuate sharply. 2.Compound Currency Bond (Multiple-Currency Bond). When a debtor issues a bond, the face value of the bond is expressed in several currencies. Investors pay in one of these currencies when they purchase the bond. 3.Floating Rate Bond. A floating rate bond is a bond whose coupon rate is adjusted in accordance with changes in the level of interest rates in the financial markets. 4.Convertible Euro-Bond. This type of bond is characterized by the fact that the debtor has authorized the issuance of the bond and the investor can convert the bond into shares of the issuing company and become a shareholder of the company according to their wishes.
Foreign exchange trading business
The international business of commercial banks, foreign exchange trading business is also a very important part, it includes: foreign exchange positions, spot foreign exchange trading, forward foreign exchange trading, options trading, arbitrage and arbitrage, and speculation, etc.
