Английский язык. Бочкарева Т.С - 21 стр.

                                                   тив в другом банке в пользу
                                                   продавца
      advising bank                              - банк, производящий выплату по
      beneficiary                                  аккредитиву
                                                 - бенефициарий

      The growth in multinational corporations manufacturing and trading on a
worldwide basis has led to the growth in the overseas operations of major banks over the
last twenty years. Banking may be said to be the one industry on which all others depend
for financial services one time or another, and banks play a key role in the import and
export trade in
particular. In 1981 US companies exported goods with a total value of USD 234
thousand million. In the same year the American market imported merchandize worth
USD 261 thousand million. Banks provided a considerable amount of money to finance
this trade, and in 1980 foreign earnings accounted for 47.3 per cent of the consolidated
earnings of the ten biggest US commercial banks.
      Letters of credit are the most frequently used international service provided by
banks for customers involved in international trade. Such a document guarantees that the
seller (exporter) will be paid provided the terms of the contract are met. At the same
time, it protects the buyer (importer) by guaranteeing that payment will not be made
until the contract is fulfilled.
      Letters of credit can be revocable or irrevocable, but the latter is most usual since it
stipulates that no changes may be made without the consent of both the buyer and seller.
      They may also be issued on a time or sight basis. The former calls for immediate
payment against the documents evidencing the shipment of goods; the latter specifies a
date by which payment must be made. The letter of credit may also be confirmed, which
means that the exporter's bank undertakes to pay the exporter for the goods once the
correct documents are received.
      Procedures differ according to the type of credit, but let us assume, for example,
that a company in Australia wants to import goods from a company in Basle,
Switzerland. As well as requiring credit, the Australian company wants to be sure that
the contract will be fulfilled. The Swiss company wants to know that it will be paid for
the goods.
      The Australian company therefore contacts its local bank and requests, for
example, an irrevocable sight letter of credit in favour of the Swiss exporter. The
application will specify the documents required as proof that the shipment of goods has
been made. The Australian bank notifies a bank in Switzerland of the credit, and is then
known as the issuing or opening bank. The Swiss bank contracts the exporter in Basle
and then known as the advising bank. The exporter, i.e. the seller, is now the beneficiary
of the letter of credit, and will receive payment provided the terms of the contract are
met. When the goods have been shipped, the company in Basle presents the documents

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