Notice. This page is informational and general in nature. Any mandate remains subject to KYC and AML checks, sanctions screening, legal review, lender underwriting, and final third-party approvals.
Structured Trade Finance Services
Most trade finance problems are not caused by bad transactions. They are caused by the wrong instrument, the wrong lender, or a submission that was not prepared to the standard a credit committee can approve. The gap between a declined application and a funded transaction is almost always structural, not fundamental.
FG Capital Advisors advises on and arranges structured trade finance facilities for importers, exporters, commodity traders, and supply chain participants across domestic and cross-border trade flows, with particular depth in emerging and frontier markets where mainstream banks are not present or not sufficient.
Get StartedTrade Finance Services We Arrange
We advise across the full range of trade finance instruments. Each service below links to a dedicated page with full detail on structure, process, and what to submit.
Sight LCs, usance LCs, confirmed LCs, transferable LCs, and standby LCs. We advise on instrument selection, issuing and confirming bank strategy, and documentation requirements for compliant presentation. Particular depth in LCs for African counterparties where correspondent banking gaps create structuring challenges.
Conversion of deferred-payment and usance LC claims into immediate liquidity before maturity. With-recourse discounting and without-recourse forfaiting structures. We assess the issuing bank, confirm document compliance status, and route transactions to the most appropriate bank or non-bank discounting provider for the specific credit profile.
LC at sight, usance LC, back-to-back LC, import loans, supplier credit with insurance, and trust receipt structures. We advise importers on the most cost-effective instrument for their specific supplier relationship, payment terms, and banking infrastructure, and prepare the submission package for lender approval.
Approved payables finance (reverse factoring), receivables purchase, dynamic discounting, inventory finance, distributor finance, and pre-shipment finance. We design the programme structure, identify the right platform or bank provider, and manage the process from mandate to live programme for both buyer-led and supplier-led facilities.
Asset-linked revolving facilities where the borrowing availability is calculated against eligible receivables, inventory, or a combined borrowing base. Structured for commodity traders and distributors with high asset turnover who need flexible working capital that scales with their book rather than a fixed term loan. Covers base metals, energy, soft commodities, and manufactured goods.
Pre-export finance, prepayment facilities, tolling structures, and collateral management arrangements for physical commodity transactions. We structure around the specific commodity, trade route, counterparty credit, and jurisdiction to access lenders with genuine sector and market appetite. Coverage across metals, energy, agricultural commodities, and soft commodities.
Who We Work With
- Need to provide payment assurance to overseas suppliers.
- Want to extend payment terms without damaging supplier relationships.
- Buying from markets where suppliers require an LC or confirmed guarantee.
- Need structured import finance to manage cash conversion cycle.
- Hold deferred-payment or usance LCs and need early liquidity.
- Selling into markets where buyers cannot open LCs through mainstream banks.
- Need confirmation of LCs from buyers in higher-risk jurisdictions.
- Want to offer open account terms but need receivables financing to do so.
- Need revolving working capital lines tied to physical inventory or receivables.
- Too small or too new for a mainstream trade finance bank relationship.
- Trading commodities in markets where banks have pulled back.
- Need a borrowing base or pre-export structure for a specific transaction.
Instrument Selection Guide
The right trade finance instrument depends on the direction of the trade, the relationship with the counterparty, and the specific working capital objective. This matrix is a starting point — the right structure for your transaction is assessed at intake.
| Situation | Recommended Instrument | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Importer buying from a new overseas supplier who requires payment certainty before shipping. | Sight or Usance Letter of Credit | Provides the supplier with bank-backed payment certainty on compliant document presentation, without the importer paying before receiving goods. |
| Exporter holding a 90- or 180-day usance LC and needs cash now to fund the next shipment. | LC Discounting or Forfaiting | Converts the deferred payment obligation into immediate liquidity at a discount, self-liquidated when the issuing bank pays at maturity. |
| Buyer with a large supplier base wanting to extend payment terms without straining suppliers. | Approved Payables Finance (SCF) | Suppliers access early payment from a financier at rates based on the buyer's credit; buyer repays the financier on extended terms. |
| Commodity trader with a confirmed purchase order needing to fund production before shipment. | Pre-Export Finance or Prepayment Facility | Advances funds against the confirmed offtake contract, repaid from the proceeds of the shipment when delivered and paid. |
| Trader with a mixed book of receivables and inventory needing a flexible, scalable working capital line. | Borrowing Base Revolving Facility | Available credit scales automatically with eligible asset values, providing flexibility that a fixed term loan cannot match. |
| Importer who has received goods and invoice but needs to delay payment while reselling stock. | Import Loan or Trust Receipt | Short-term bank-funded bridge between the date of payment to the supplier and the date of receipt from the buyer, secured against the goods. |
| Buyer opening an LC for a supplier who will themselves need to purchase goods to fulfil the order. | Back-to-Back Letter of Credit | A second LC is issued to the supplier's own supplier, backed by the original LC, allowing the intermediary to fulfil without using their own credit lines. |
Trade Finance for Emerging and Frontier Markets
A significant share of our mandates involve trade flows that touch markets where the mainstream banking system is not sufficient: Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, and frontier markets in Southeast Asia. In these markets, trade finance does not fail because the trade is bad. It fails because the banking infrastructure was not built to serve it.
- Correspondent banking gaps. Many local banks in frontier markets lack active correspondent relationships with trade finance banks. We work with providers that have established these relationships and can issue or confirm instruments without requiring a pre-existing bank-to-bank line.
- KYC and compliance complexity. Cross-border transactions involving African or frontier market counterparties carry higher KYC compliance costs. We prepare documentation packages that meet the compliance standards of the lenders we introduce, reducing the risk of the transaction stalling mid-process.
- Non-bank alternatives. Where banks have pulled back from a market or sector, non-bank trade finance providers and specialist lenders have filled part of the gap. We maintain relationships across both bank and non-bank providers and route transactions to the right counterparty for the specific profile.
- Country risk structuring. We advise on how to structure instruments to mitigate country risk, including LC confirmation, political risk insurance, and multilateral agency involvement where applicable.
How We Work: From Intake to Funded Transaction
- Trade Flow Review We assess the transaction, counterparties, instrument requirements, jurisdiction, and timeline to identify the right structure before any lender is approached.
- Instrument and Structure Selection We recommend the most appropriate trade finance instrument and facility structure for the specific trade, counterparty relationship, and working capital objective.
- Lender Matching We identify banks, non-bank providers, and specialist lenders with confirmed appetite for the transaction profile, geography, and commodity or goods type.
- Submission Pack Preparation We build the lender submission package to the standard required for credit approval: financial information, trade flow documentation, KYC and AML package, and a clear risk narrative.
- Terms and Facility Agreement We support pricing and facility term negotiations through to an agreed term sheet and, where required, facility agreement execution.
- Transaction Execution We support through first drawdown, LC issuance, or programme launch to confirm the facility is operational and the transaction completes as structured.
What To Submit For a Review
- Overview of the transaction: goods, counterparty, direction (import or export), value, and payment terms.
- Details of any existing banking relationships and trade finance facilities currently in place.
- Corporate financials for the applicant entity, including recent audited or management accounts.
- Any contracts, purchase orders, or offtake agreements relevant to the transaction.
- The specific working capital objective: payment certainty, liquidity acceleration, term extension, or revolving facility.
- Full KYC and AML documentation for the company and all beneficial owners.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Structured trade finance refers to the use of specialist financial instruments and facilities to support the movement of goods across borders or within a supply chain. Unlike general corporate lending, structured trade finance is self-liquidating: the repayment of each facility is tied directly to the proceeds of a specific trade transaction rather than to a borrower's general cash flow. Instruments include letters of credit, documentary collections, supply chain finance programmes, borrowing base facilities, and pre-export finance structures.
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Structured trade finance is used by importers who need to provide payment assurance to overseas suppliers, exporters who need to convert deferred payment obligations into immediate liquidity, commodity traders who need revolving working capital lines tied to physical inventory or receivables, manufacturers and distributors managing large supplier payment programmes, and companies trading into or out of emerging and frontier markets where standard bank credit facilities are insufficient or unavailable.
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A letter of credit is a bank instrument that guarantees payment to a supplier upon presentation of compliant shipping documents, typically used for cross-border trade with new or unfamiliar counterparties. Supply chain finance operates on approved invoices after goods have been delivered and accepted, making it suited to established, recurring buyer-supplier relationships. LCs provide payment certainty before or at delivery; SCF provides liquidity acceleration after invoice approval.
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Yes. A significant portion of FG Capital Advisors' trade finance mandates involve counterparties or goods flows in Sub-Saharan Africa, including the DRC, Zambia, Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, and East Africa. We work with bank and non-bank providers that have genuine appetite for African trade flows and can structure around the specific challenges these transactions present, including correspondent banking gaps, local currency risk, and KYC complexity.
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A borrowing base facility is a revolving credit line where the amount available to draw at any time is calculated against the value of eligible assets, typically receivables, inventory, or a combination of both. As assets are collected or goods are sold, the borrowing base reduces and the facility self-liquidates. It is particularly suited to commodity traders and distributors with high asset turnover who need flexible working capital that scales with their trade volumes rather than a fixed term loan.
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Requirements vary by facility type but typically include corporate financials for the applicant entity, details of the trade flow including counterparty, goods, volumes, and payment terms, any existing trade finance or banking facilities, KYC and AML documentation for the company and all beneficial owners, and where relevant, contracts, purchase orders, or offtake agreements that evidence the underlying trade. FG Capital Advisors assists clients in assembling the submission package to the standard required by lenders.
If you have a trade finance requirement that your existing banking relationships cannot meet, submit your mandate for a structured intake review. We assess the transaction, recommend the right instrument, and introduce you to the most appropriate provider for your specific trade profile.
Get StartedDisclosure. FG Capital Advisors is not a bank, licensed lender, or direct provider of trade finance facilities. Services are delivered on a best-efforts advisory basis through third-party capital providers and remain subject to lender underwriting, KYC and AML checks, sanctions screening, legal review, and definitive documentation.
