7....Internship Report ; Roll 11-078
Transcript of 7....Internship Report ; Roll 11-078
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
CHAPTER-A:
Introduction of the Study
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
1) Introduction
Trade is an integral part of the total developmental effort and national growth of all
economies including Bangladesh. It particularly plays a central role in the development plan
of Bangladesh where underdeveloped technology and a low capital base constitute a critical
bottleneck. Export trade can largely meet ‘foreign exchange gap’, and export growth would
increase the import capacity of the country that, in turn, would increase industrialization, as
well as overall economic activities. Bangladesh’s import needs are substantial; hence the
need to rapidly increase exports is immediate. In order to finance the international traders
and to ease the process of import and export and also to reduce the country’s dependence
on foreign aid, the commercial banks of Bangladesh play a vital role to enhance foreign
exchange earnings of the country through their improved services and superior ways of
facilitating international trade.
Studying the role of foreign exchange department of National Bank Limited encompasses
the whole idea about how a authorized dealer branch of a commercial bank smoothes the
progress of international trade by offering a wide array of services in the field of import and
export. This study will give insight into the operation, current situation, success, problems
and prospects of foreign exchange business of National Bank Limited. Foreign exchange
business is becoming more complex and intensely competitive now because of free
economy. However, in the backdrop of phenomenal growth of Bangladesh’s external sector,
foreign exchange business provides a challenge as well as an excellent opportunity to
accelerate the growth of bank’s own business. This is the Institution that facilitates
international trade payment, as banking channel is the way of settlements.
2) Background of the Study
After completing Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree, an Internship in a
business organization is a necessary requirement. The internship program enables a student
to get an exposure to the real world. Thus, after completing BBA program from University of
Dhaka, I joined National Bank Ltd. Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch for completing my
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Internship requirement. The topic of my study was “Role of Foreign Exchange Department
of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade”.
3) Objective of the Study
There are mainly two objectives behind the preparation of this report such as primary
objectives and secondary objectives. These are discussed as under:
The Primary Objective
The primary objective of preparing this report is to fulfill the partial requirements of the BBA
program and to represent the ‘Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank
Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade - A case study of national Bank Limited, Mohakhali
Branch’.
Secondary Objective
The secondary objectives of this report are as below:
1) To exhibit the operations of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali (Foreign Exchange)
Branch in Facilitating import business of Bangladesh.
2) To demonstrate the involvement of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali (Foreign
Exchange) Branch in export business of Bangladesh and how they assist our local exporters.
3) To reveal the contribution of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali (Foreign Exchange)
Branch to total amount of import and export of Bangladesh.
4) To review the chronological performance of the export and import business of National
Bank Limited, Mohakhali (Foreign Exchange) Branch from the year 2006 to 2009.
5) To provide some relevant recommendations.
4) Sources of data collection
The officials and management body of NBL primarily provided necessary information in
preparing this report. Therefore, other necessary information and data of the report are
collected through various documents of NBL, library work, and web site of NBL.
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Sources of Data
Primary Sources Secondary sources
Face to face interviewOfficial records & documents of NBLCommunication with other respective personnel of NBL.Expert opinion.
Annual report & appraisal manual of NBLOfficial websiteJournals and relevant books.Performance sheets provided by NBL
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
5) Methodology of the report
Correct and smooth completion of report work requires adherence to some rules and
methodologies. Rules were followed to ease the date collection procedure. Accuracy of
study depends on the information and data analysis.
Study area
The area of my study has been encompassed the operation area of “National Bank Limited,
Mohakhali branch”.
Target group
To accumulate the required data I have contacted with each departmental head along with
other concerned executive of National Bank Limited. In case foreign exchange operation I
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
have got in close with the responsible personnel of foreign exchange Department of NBL,
Mohakhali Branch to collect the information.
Types of research
In this particular study, descriptive and statistical types of research have undertaken to gain
insights and understanding about the assigned topic.
Use of Microsoft Excel
MS-Excel is used to determine the overall chronological performances of import and export
business of National Bank Ltd during the year 2006 to 2009.
Job Description
Section Duration
General Banking From 03/01/2010 to 21/01/2010
Foreign Exchange From 24/01/2010 to 28/02/2010
6) Limitations
Shortage of time period
I had to complete this report writing within a shorter period of time since many days have
passed during the training session. So the time constraint of the study hindering the course
of vast area and time for preparing a report within the mentioned period is really difficult.
Busy working environment
The officials had some times been unable to provide information because of their huge
routine work. That’s why I do not gather vast knowledge about the critical issues.
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Lack of sufficient well informed officials
Many officials of the branch are not well informed about foreign exchange problems of NBL.
I had to face many difficulties to collect this information.
Insufficient Data
The data required for sufficient analysis for writing report couldn’t be collected due to
excessive workload. I had to rely entirely on the data received from the books of statistics,
Manifesto, and the Annual Reports of National Bank Limited, and I had no opportunity to
verify the satisfaction level of clients and receive their suggestions in implementing foreign
exchange banking activities.
Secrecy of Management
There some information which are confidential. I am unable to collect these data. Some
data could not been collected for confidentiality or secrecy of management.
Other limitation
As we are newcomer, there is a lack of previous experience in this concern. And many
practical matters have been written from our own observation that may vary from person to
person.
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
CHAPTER-B:
National Bank Limited & its Mohakhali
Foreign Exchange Branch
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
7) Brief Overview of National Bank Limited
National Bank Limited has its prosperous past, glorious present, prospective future and
under processing projects and activities. Established as the first private sector Bank fully
owned by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs, NBL has been flourishing as the largest private sector
bank with the passage of time after facing many stress and strain. The member of the board
of directors is creative businessman and international economic activities and for rendering
all modern services, NBL, as a financial institution automated all its branches with computer
network in accordance with the competitive commercial demand of time. Moreover,
considering it’s forth- coming future the infrastructure of the Bank has been much more to
NBL. Keeping the target in mind NBL has taken preparation branches by the wear 2000-
2001.
The emergence of National Bank Limited In the private sector is an important event in the
banking area of Bangladesh. When the national was in the grip of severe recession, Govt.
took the farsighted decision to allow in the private sector to revive the economy of the
country. Several dynamic entrepreneurs came forward for establishing a bank with a motto
to revitalize the economy of the country.
National Bank Limited was born as the first hundred percent Bangladesh owned Bank in the
private sector. From the very inception it is the firm determination of National Bank Limited
to play a vital role in the national economy. NBL has determined to bring back the long
forgotten taste of banking services and flavors. We want to serve each one promptly and
with a sense of dedication and dignity.
The then President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Justice Ahsanuddin Chowdhury
inaugurated the bank formally on March 28, 1983 but the first branch at 48, Dilkusha
Commercial Area, Dhaka started functioning on March 23, 1983. The 2nd Branch was opened
on 11th May 1983 at Khatungonj, Chittagong. Today NBL has total 106 Branches all over
Bangladesh.
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
A representative office was established in Yangon, Myanmar in October, 1996 by our bank
and obtained permission from the government of Bangladesh to handle border trade with
Mayanmar. Opportunities are being explored for further business avenues there.
Now NBL is on line to establish trade and communication with the prime international
banking companies of the world. As a result NBL will be able to build a strong root in
international banking horizon. Bank has been drawing arrangement with well conversant
money transfer service agency “Western union”. It has full time arrangement for speedy
transfer of money all over the world.
Banking is not only a profit – oriented commercial institution but it has a public bas and
social commitment admitting this true NBL is going on with its diversified banking activities
NBL introduced monthly Savings Scheme, special Deposit Scheme of Consumers.
Credit Scheme and savings Insurance scheme etc. A team of highly qualified and experiment
professional headed by the managing Director of the bank who has vast banking experience
operates bank and at the top three is an efficient Board of Directors for making policies.
NBL, which was started at Dilkhusa Branch on March 23rd, 1983, was the first major
commercial Bank. In Bangladesh operating through out the country as well as the age of the
bank is only 25 years during this period it has established total 103 branches over the
country and made smooth network inside the country as well as thought the world. The
number of branches as well as territory wise is mentioned in the table.
Area wise branches
Division area Number of branches
Dhaka division 37
Chittagong 22
Rajshahi division 16
Khulna division 14
Sylhet division 14
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
8) Brief Overview of the Mohakhali Branch, National Bank Limited
Mohakhali Branch of NBL is an authorized dealer Branch. Not all branches of a NBL provides
foreign exchange department. The branches which has foreign exchange department are
known as authorized dealer. These authorized dealers have permission from Bangladesh
bank for their services. Further these authorized dealer branches are under strict
supervision of Bangladesh Bank. Authorized dealer can handle all kinds of foreign
transactions as per FER Act 1947 under the instructions of Bangladesh Bank. Followings are
the main functions of an authorized dealer:
Exchange of foreign currencies.
To make arrangement with foreign correspondent.
Buying & selling of foreign currencies.
Handling inward & outward remittance.
Opening of L/C & Settlements of Payments.
Investment in foreign trade.
Opening and maintenance of Accounts with foreign banks under intimation of
Bangladesh Bank.
Export document handling.
National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Name of the Department Total Number of Personnel
Application & Approval department 06
L/C Issue Department 08
Dispatch Department 05
Payment Department 06
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
CHAPTER-C:
Facilitating Foreign Trade through
Foreign Exchange Operation
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
9) Necessity of Foreign Exchange Branch
Banks play a vital role by minimizing the risk of two parties, namely buyer and seller. In fact
without the help of Banks we cannot think about a congenial international trade
environment. Now the question comes how Banks help international trade. We know that in
a local trade there is a chance to know about each other. But in international trade the
involved parties stay two distant places. For a buyer the following risks are involved-
Risk of non-delivery of goods.
Risk of receiving sub standard goods.
Risk of fraud in goods.
For the seller the following risk is involved-
Risk of non-payment.
To reduce the aforesaid risks an independent system is introduced which will safeguard the
buyer as well as seller in an international trade. Actually Banks play due role by getting into
two parties and bind them.
10) General Drift of Foreign exchange branch/ authorized dealer
Foreign Exchange is the means and methods by which rights to wealth in a country’s
currency. In banks when we talk of Foreign Exchange, we refer to the general mechanism by
which a bank converts currency of one country into that of another. Foreign Exchange
Department (FED) is the international department Bangladesh Bank issues license to
scheduled banks to deal with Foreign Exchange. These banks are known as Authorized
Dealers. If the branches are Authorized dealer in foreign exchange market, it can remit
foreign exchange from local country to foreign countries. Therefore, NBL, Mohakhali branch
is an authorized dealer.
Facilitate Foreign Trade
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
11) Activities of foreign exchange branch favoring import
To import, a person should be competent to be an importer. According to Import and Export
control Act, 1950, the office of chief Controller of Import and Export provides the
registration (IRC) to the importer. In an international business environment, buyers and
sellers are generally unknown to each other. So seller of goods always seeks security for the
payment of his exported goods. Bank gives export guarantee that it will pay for the goods on
behalf for the buyer if the buyer does not pay. This guarantee is called Letter of Credit, Thus,
the contract between importer and exporter is given a legal shape by the banker by Letter of
Credit.
The main facilities provided by the import section are:
Opening of Letter of Credit;
Facilitating Payments to the Exporter on behalf of the Importer;
Providing Funded and Non-funded Credit Facility;
Issuing Bank Guarantee in foreign currency on behalf of Foreign Companies.
The aforementioned facilities given by the foreign exchange branch to importers can be
divided into two major faction and they are:
Activities of foreign exchange branch favoring import
1) Trade settlement activities 2) Financing facilities
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
11.1) Description of Trade settlement activities
11.1.1) Prerequisite for having authorized dealer’s help
Imports are foreign goods and services purchased by consumers, firms & Governments in
Bangladesh. According to Import and Export Control Act, 1950, the Office of Chief Controller
of Import and Export (CCI & E) provides the registration (IRC) to the importer. Import of
goods in Bangladesh is regulated by the
Ministry of Commerce in terms of the Import and Export Control Act, 1950;
Import Policy Order and the Public Notice issued by the Office of the Chief Controller
of Imports and Exports (CCI&E);
At present it is regulated by the Import Policy Order (2007-2006), which was come
into effect on March 14, 2007. And Import Policy directs certain Import Procedure,
which administers the whole activity.
11.1.2) Different forms of Trade Settlement
Importer settles the means of payment with the seller after making the purchase contract.
Import procedure differs with relation to different means of payment. The possible means
are shown here:
In our country in most cases, the Documentary/Letter of Credit makes import payment.
Purchase Contract contains which payment procedure has to be applied.
a) Cash in Advance: Importer pays full, partial or progressive payment by a foreign DD, MT
or TT. After receiving payment, exporter will send the goods and the transport receipt to the
importer. Importer will take delivery of the goods from the transport company.
b) Open Account: Exporter ships the goods and sends transport receipt to the importer.
Importer will take delivery of the goods and makes payment by foreign DD, MT, or TT at
some specified date.
c) Collection Method: Collection methods are either clean collection or documentary
collection. Again, Documentary Collection may be Document against Payment (D/P) or
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Document against Acceptance (D/A). The collection procedure is that the exporter ships the
goods and draws a draft/ bill on the buyer. The exporter submits the draft/bill (only or with
documents) to the remitting bank for collection and the bank acknowledges this. Then the
remitting bank sends the draft/bill (with or without documents) and a collection instruction
letter to the collecting bank. Acting as an agent of the remitting bank, the collecting bank
notifies the importer upon receipt of the draft. The title of goods is released to the importer
upon full payment or acceptance of the draft/bill.
d) Letter of Credit: Letter of credit is the well-accepted and most commonly used means of
payment. It is an undertaking for payment by the issuing bank to the beneficiary, upon
submission of some stipulated documents and fulfilling the terms and conditions mentioned
in the letter of credit.
11.1.3) Letter of credit: widely used & well-accepted forms of trade
settlement
A letter of credit is a letter issued by (know as the opening or the issuing bank) at the
instance of its customer (know as the opener) addressed to a person (beneficiary)
undertaking that the bills drawn by the beneficiary will be duly honored by it (opening Bank)
provided certain conditions mentioned in the letter gave been complied with.
As distance is involved in international trade, buyers and sellers do not know each other. It
is difficult for both the buyers and seller to appreciate each others’ integrity and credit
worthiness. Letter of Credit is a guarantee or undertaking to the exporter who is also called
beneficiary, for making payment issued by the issuing bank on behalf of the importer upon
fulfillment of some conditions.
In the Import Policy Order 2007-2006 Letter of Credit denoted as – ‘“Letter of Credit” means
a letter of credit opened for the purpose of import under this Order’
The expression “Documentary Credit(s)” and “Standby Letter(s)” means any arrangements,
however named or described, whereby a bank (“the issuing bank”) acting at the request and
on the instruction of a customer (the “Applicant”) or on its own behalf,
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Is to make a payment to or the order of a third party (“the Beneficiary”), or is to
accept and pay bills of exchange (Draft’s) drawn by the Beneficiary, Or
authorizes another bank to effect such payment, or to accept and pay such bills of
exchange (Draft(s)),Or
authorizes another bank to negotiate,
Against stipulated document(s), provided that the terms and conditions of the Credit
are complied with.
On the other hand, Letter of credit can be defined as a “Credit Contract” whereby the
buyer’s bank is committed on behalf of the buyers to pay an agreed amount of money at the
seller’s disposal under some agreed conditions. Since the agreed conditions include amongst
other things, the presentation of some specified documents, the letter of credit is called
Documentary letter of credit. The uniform customs and practices for documentary Credit
(UCPDC) published by International Chamber of Commerce (2007) revision, publication no.
600 define Documentary Credit:
Any arrangement however named or described whereby a bank (the issuing bank)
acting at the request and on the instructions of a customs (the Applicant) or on it’s
own behalf,
Is to make a payment to or to the order of a third party (the beneficiary) or is to
accept and pay bills of exchange (Drafts) drawn by the beneficiary or
Authorize another bank to effect such payment or to accept and pay such bills of
exchange (Drafts)
Authorize another bank to negotiate against stipulated documents provide that
terms and conditions are complied with.
11.1.4) Parties of a Letter of Credit
Importer Who applies for L\C
Issuing Bank It is the bank, which opens\issues a L\C on behalf
of the importer
Confirming Bank It is the bank, which adds its confirmation to the
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
credit and it, is done at the request of issuing
bank. Confirming bank may or may not be
advising bank.
Advising or Notifying Bank It is the bank, through which the L/C is advised to
the exporters. This bank is actually situated in
exporter’s country. It may also assume the role
of confirming and/ or negotiating bank
depending upon the condition of the credit.
Negotiating Bank It is the bank which negotiates the bill and pays
the amount of the beneficiary. The advising bank
and the negotiating bank may or may not be the
same. Sometimes it can also be confirming bank.
Accepting Bank It is the bank on which the bill will be drawn (as
per condition of the credit). Usually it is the
issuing bank.
Reimbursing Bank It is the bank, which would reimburse the
negotiating bank after getting payment-
instructions from issuing bank.
Paying Bank The bank that effects payment to the beneficiary
(as named in the Letter of Credit) is known as
paying bank/drawee bank.
11.1.5) Types of Letter of Credit
There are many types of Letter of Credits that are used in different countries of the world.
But International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) vides their UCPDC- 600, which denotes only
two types of LETTER OF Credits; mentioned:
Revocable Letter of Credit
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
A revocable credit may be amended or cancelled by the issuing bank at any moment and
without prior notice to the beneficiary. This type of letter of credit can be revoked or
cancelled at any time without consent of, or notice to the beneficiary.
In case of seller (beneficiary), revocable credit involves risk, as the credit may be amended
or cancelled while the goods are in transit and before the documents are presented, or
although presented before payments has been made. The seller would then face the
problem of obtaining payment on the other hand revocable credit gives the buyer maximum
flexibility, as it can be amended or cancelled without prior notice to the seller up to the
moment of payment but the issuing bank at which the issuing bank has made the credit
available.
In the modern banking the use of revocable credit is not widespread.
In this case the issuing banks must perform the following two roles:
i) Reimburse another bank with which a revocable credit has been made available for
sight payment, acceptance or negotiation – for any payment, acceptance or
negotiation made by such bank – prior to receipt by it of notice of amendment or
cancellation, against documents which appear on their face to be in compliance with
the terms and conditions of the Credit;
ii) Reimburse another bank with which a revocable credit has been made available for
deferred payment, if such a bank has, prior to receipt by it of notice of amendment
or cancellation, take up documents which appear on their face to be in compliance
with the terms and conditions of the Credit.
Irrevocable Letter of Credit
An irrevocable credit is a documentary credit, which cannot be revoked, varied or
changed/amended or cancelled without the consent of all parties- buyer (Applicant), seller
(Beneficiary), Issuing Bank, and Confirming Bank (in case of confirmed Letter of Credit).
Irrevocable Credit gives the seller greater assurance of payments, but he/she remains
dependent on an undertaking of a foreign bank. In the issuance of Irrevocable Letter of
Credit both the Issuing and Conforming Bank have some liability, mentioned bellow, as per
UCPDC -600:
The following types of Letter of Credits are used in the National Bank, Mohakhali Branch:
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Cash Letter of Credit
Payment made form cash foreign exchange not from export proceeds. This type of Letter of
Credit Payment term is at sight.
Deferred Letter of Credit
The only difference between cash Letter of Credit and deferred Letter of Credit lied in the
terms of payment. Payment under deferred Letter of Credit is made after certain days of
presentation of the export bill. Deferred Letter of Credit may be opened for the following
cases:
Items Period
Industrial Raw Materials (For own use) Maximum 180 days
Back to Back Imports Maximum 180 days
Agricultural Implements & Chemical
Fertilizer
Maximum 180 days
Capital Machinery Maximum 360 days
Coastal Vessel Maximum 360 days
Life Saving Drugs Maximum 90 Days
Back to Back Letter of Credit
It is simply issued to the client s against an import L/C. Back –to-Back mechanism involve 2
separate L/Cs. One is master Export L/C and another is Back-to –Back L/C. On the strength o
faster Export L/C bank issues bank to back L/C id commonly known as Buying L/C. On the
country, Master export L/C is known selling L/C.
L/C under EDF
Exporter Development Fund is created by Bangladesh Bank to give encourages to the
exporter in Bangladesh.
Generally, Back-to-Back L/C is Issuance L/C That is here bill of exchange is payable after
some maturity date say 90 or 120 days after t6he date of acceptance/ negotiation, But some
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
foreign seller may require sight payment. Here import L/C matures first. In that case
Bangladesh Bank gives the fund to the bank to pay the price of imported goods in favor of
the local purchaser of raw materials. When export proceeds come, first Bangladesh Bank
loan to the importer is adjusted and remaining part goes to the importer of raw materials.
11.1.6) Instructions Issued by Bangladesh Bank for Opening and Operation of
L/C for Import of Goods
a) All Letter of Credits and similar undertakings covering imports into Bangladesh must
be documentary Letter of Credits and should provide for payment to be made
against full sets of onboard (shipped) transport documents (BL, AIB, TR etc.) showing
dispatch of goods covered by Credit to a destination in Bangladesh;
b) They must ensure that they deal only with known customers having a place of
business in Bangladesh and can be traced easily if any occasion arise for this
purpose;
c) They should establish Letter of Credit against specific authorization on behalf of their
own customers who maintain accounts with them with and know to be participated
in the trade;
d) It is not permissible to open to clean or revolving credits;
e) They are allowed to open divisible, transferable Letter of Credits for import into
Bangladesh under cash LCAF (Letter of Authorization Form);
f) It is not permissible to open Letter of Credits in favor of beneficiaries in countries
from which import into are banned by the component authority;
g) Confidential report of the exporter to be obtained by the bank, where the amount of
Letter of Credit exceeds TK. 2,00,000 in case of import against proforma invoices
issued direct by foreign supplier and TK. 5,00,000 against indent issued by local
agents of the suppliers;
h) Payments against discrepant documents may be made after the goods have been
cleared from the customs on the basis of the locative LCAF;
i) Advanced remittance against import may be made after getting prior permission
from Bangladesh Bank where the goods are of specialized or capital nature.
11.1.7) Account Procedure in case of L/C Opening
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
When the officer thinks fit the applicatio9n to open a L/C, giving the following entries-creates the
following charges-
Particulars Debit/Credit
Customers A/C Debit
L/C Margin A/C Credit
Commission A/C on L/C Credit
VAT Credit
SWIFT Charge Credit
Data max Credit
Stamp Credit
Postage Credit
DHL / Courier Credit
11.1.8) Foreign exchange branch involvement in import procedure
Preparation of Proposal and Submitting TO THE Authority for Obtaining Permission of
Opening L/C
Before opening Letter of Credit, the applicant must take permission from the competent
authority. Whether the authority has to be taken from the Branch or from the Head Office
depends on the amount of Letter of Credit and the percentage of margin. A proposal for
obtaining permission for opening Letter of Credit generally contains the following points:
Name and address of the importer;
Name and address of the Guarantor if any;
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Particular of Merchandise to be imported along with name of the item, Harmonized
System (H.S.) Code, country of origin, quantity, unit price and purpose of import;
Particulars/ Terms of L/C along with name and address of the beneficiary, tenor of
payment, port of loading and discharge, shipment validity and expiry date etc.;
Landed cost of the goods;
Market price of the goods at Dhaka and Chittagong (if applicable);
Name of the previous banker with outstanding liability (if any);
Number of CD accounts and transaction performance through this account;
Facilities that are presently enjoying by the party;
Present liability position with the bank;
Present liability position of allied/sister concerns with the bank
Letter of Credit performance of the party during the year/previous year;
Proposed mode of retirement.
Depositing of L/C Margin and Other Charges
Before issuing Letter of Credit, bank asks the applicant to deposit Letter of Credit margin
according to the terms of sanction and other necessary charges which includes commission,
handling charges, foreign correspondence charge, telex/SWIFT charge etc. as per terms and
conditions of sanction.
Before issuing Letter of Credit Bank asks the applicant to deposit the following, as per the
terms of the sanction:
Letter of Credit Margin As per Government Circular
Commission As per internal policy (Letter of Credit
value .005 for first quarter, Subsequent
Quarter .003
Document Handling Charge 1500
SWIFT Charge 3500
Courier Charge (Except India) 1500
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Courier (India) 300
VAT 15% Fixed on Commission
Tab1: Charges of Deposit of L/C Margin
Margin charged against any particular Letter of Credit depends upon the Item or Goods of
the import. Margin varies between nil to 80%. Generally the higher value of margin, the
higher it means that Bangladesh Bank discourages to import that goods or items.
Issuing the Letter of Credit
In this stage, the issuing bank fills the bank-specified-form for issuing Letter of Credit.
Generally a Letter of Credit contains the following information and terms and conditions:
Charges;
Country of origin of goods;
Currency and amount ;
Date and place of the expiry of the Documentary Credits ;
Description of goods and quantity ;
Documents required for negotiation;
Instruction for negotiating bank;
Last date of shipment;
Letter of Credit Authorization Form (LCAF) number, IRC (Import Registration Certificate)
number and Harmonized System (HS) code;
Period of Negotiation ;
Period of presentation ;
Port of Loading and port of Discharge;
Reimbursing Bank and payment mode;
Terms and conditions regarding Transshipment and Partial Shipment;
Depending on the specific provision in the underlying sales-contract (mentioned below), it
may be necessary to incorporate one or more of the following additional terms in the Letter
of Credit-
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IMPORTER:Application, IRC, TIN, Indent/Pro-forma Invoice, Insurance cover note
BANKER: LCA form, Application agreement for confirmed L/C, Check sanctioning approval, Credibility of importer &Supplier, IPO, HS Code, Ascertain duty etc
Opening L/C – Creating contra liability by taking margin
Dispatch / Transmit the L/C to the beneficiary through issuing bank’s correspondent in the beneficiary’s country
Receipt of import documents from negotiating / collecting bank
Scrutiny of import documents
Are the documents discrepant?
Lodgement of import bills
Inform Opener, Reimbursing Bank, Negotiating Bank, about discrepancies
If discrepancies agreed
Inform the opener to take delivery of import documents for release of goods.
Importer / opener pay the further margin to the bank
Retirement of import bill
Collect customs Bill Of Entry for matching with IMP form
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Whether the pay of the bank charges is on account of the opener or seller
Whether, in case of bulk import, charter-party Bill of Lading (B/L) is acceptable or not.
Diagram Foreign exchange branch involvement in import procedure
Receipt of Documents
After opening the Letter of Credit the next step would be to await shipment followed by
negotiation of documents by a bank abroad. The beneficiary of the Letter of Credit
25
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
(supplier), after effecting shipment of the goods as per Letter of Credit terms, prepare or
collect necessary documents as required under the terms of Letter of Credit and presents
the drafts to the negotiating bank along with the supporting documents for negotiation.
The negotiating bank negotiates the draft if the documents are found in order as per terms
of the Letter of Credit, pays the beneficiary. The negotiating bank will reimburse itself either
by debiting National Bank’s Account, if any, maintained with them (the NOSTRO Account) or
will seek reimbursing bank mentioned in Letter of Credit, if there is no account.
Simultaneously, the bank will send the documents to National Bank. The nature of
documents has to be sent by the negotiating bank will depend primarily on the terms of the
Letter of Credit and secondly the sales contact between the buyer and seller. However,
generally the following documents are asked to send:
Bill of lading or Airway Bill or other evidence of shipment (e.g. Railway Receipt, Truck
Receipt, Barge Receipt)
Certificate of Origin;
Commercial Invoice;
Draft or Bill of Exchange;
Inspection of Survey Certificate;
Marine Insurance Policy;
Packing List;
Quality Control Certificate.
Scrutiny of Documents
On receipt of the documents, the branch shall immediately set itself to the task of
scrutinizing the documents. What they would ensure is that the documents received from
the negotiating bank are drawn strictly in conformity with the terms of the Letter of Credit
and respond to the requirement of the underlying Letter of Credit in every respect.
Examination of the documents generally includes the following points:
Completeness of the documents;
Consistency of the documents with each other;
Compliance with the Uniform Customs and Practices for Documentary Credits (UCPDC)
issued by the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris.
26
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
One of the basic principles of documentary credit is that all parties deal with document and
not with goods (Articles 6 of UCPDC-600). That is why the documents should be scrutinized
properly. If any discrepancy in the documents is found, that is to be informed to the party. A
checklist may be followed for examining the documents.
In the UCPDC the Standard for Examining of Documents is mentioned as follows:
a) Banks must examine all documents stipulated in the Credit with reasonable care, to
ascertain whether of not they appear, on their face, to be in compliance with the terms and
conditions of the Credit. Compliance of the stipulated documents on their face with the
same terms and conditions on the Credit shall be determined by international standard
banking practice as reflected in these Articles. Documents which appear in their face to be
inconsistent with one another will be considered as not appearing on their face to be in
compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit. Documents not stipulated in the
credit will not be examined by banks. If they receive such documents, they shall return them
to the presenter.
b) The Issuing Bank, the Conforming Bank, if any or a Nominated bank acting on their behalf,
shall each have a responsible time, not to exceed five banking days following the day of
receipt of the documents, to examine the documents and determine whether to take up
documents and to inform the party from which it received the documents accordingly.
c) If a credit contains conditions without stating the document(s) to be presented in
compliance there with, bank will deem such conditions as not stated and will disregard
them.
Some Key Check Points for the documents
1.Letter Of Credit
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Whether the documents have been negotiated or presented before expiry of the credit
Whether the amount drawn exceeded the amount available under the credit
2. The Commercial Invoice
Is the invoice made out in the name currency as the credit indicates?
Is the invoice made out in the name of the buyer with the same address specified in the
credit?
Does the invoice agree exactly with the credit as regards description of goods, value of
goods, unit prices & delivery terms?
Any special notation, confirmation & attestation were specified in the credit and those
have been complied with on the invoice and if required duly signed.
Does the invoice evidence the following; shipping marks/terms of delivery/weight data
&import license number etc.
3. Bill Of Exchange
Is the Bill of Exchange drawn in the language of the credit?
Is the bill of exchange properly prepared according to the credit conditions (on a sight or
time basis) and drawn on the specified Bank?
Is it properly dated and signed?
Is the amount in figures corresponded exactly with the amount in word?
Does it contain all the prescribed notations and clauses?
As a rule, the amount of bill of Exchange must agree with the invoice amount (drawn to
cover only 90% or 80% of the invoice value.
4. Bill Of Lading
First of all it has to be cleared that the Bill of Lading is showing “Shipped on Board” and it
has to be properly endorsed to the Bank.
The B/L should include the description of the merchandise according to invoice.
The port of shipment and destination, date of shipment and the name of the consignee
are in agreement with those mentioned in the L/C.
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
The shipping company or their authorized agents properly sign the B/L.
The date on the B/L is not ‘stale’ which means it is not dated in unreasonably long time
prior to negotiation.
5. The Insurance Cover Note
Is the insurance documents specified in the credit submitted?
Does the insurance cover the risks mentioned in the credit in the currency of the credit
and for the prescribed amount but not less than CIF value?
Is the insurance documents dated not later than the shipping documents?
Does the insurance policy/Certificate agree with other document as regards description,
weight & marks of the goods, mode of transport & the route?
Does the insurance company attached and so far as necessary, endorsed issue all the
copies?
6. Certificate Of Origin
Is the certificate of origin of goods is given as stipulated?
Discrepant Documents and Notice
a) When the Issuing Bank authorizes another bank to pay, incur a deferred payment
undertaking, accept Draft(s), or negotiate against documents which appear on their face to
be incompliance with the terms and conditions of the Credit, the Issuing Bank and the
Conforming Bank, if any are bound:
i. To reimburse the Nominated Bank which has paid, incurred a differed payment
undertaking accepted Draft(s) or negotiated,
ii. To take up the documents.
b) Upon receipt of the documents the Issuing Bank, and/or Conforming Bank, if any, or
Nominated Bank, acting on their behalf, must determine on the basis of the documents
alone whether or not they appear on their face to be in compliance with the terms and
conditions of the Credit. If the documents appear on their face not be in compliance with
the terms and conditions of the Credit, such banks may refuse to take up the documents.
29
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
c) The Issuing Bank determines that the documents appear on their face not to be in
compliance with the terms and conditions of the Credit, it may in its sole judgment
approach the Applicant for a waiver for the discrepancy. This does not, however, extend the
period mentioned in sub-Article 13(b)
i. If the issuing Bank and/or Conforming Bank, if any, or a Nominated bank acting on their
behalf, decides to refuse the documents, it must give notice to that effect by
telecommunication or, if that is not possible, by other expeditious means, without delay but
not later that the close of the fifth banking day following the day of receipt of the
documents. Such notice shall be given the bank form which it received the documents, or to
the Beneficiary, if it received the documents directly from him.
ii. Such notice must state that all discrepancies in respect of which the bank refuses the
documents and must also state whether it is holding the documents at the disposal of, or is
returning them to, the presenter.
iii. The issuing Bank and/or Conforming Bank, if any shall then be entitled to claim from the
emitting bank, with interest, of any reimbursement which has been made to that bank.
e) If the issuing Bank and/or Conforming Bank, if any, fails to act in accordance with the
provisions of this Article and/or hold the documents at the disposal of, or return them to the
presenter, the issuing Bank and/or Conforming Bank, if any, shall be precluded form
claiming that the documents are not in compliance with the terms and conditions of the
Credit.
f) If the reimbursing bank draws the attention of the issuing Bank and/or Conforming Bank,
if any, to any discrepancy in the documents or advises such banks that it has paid, incurred a
deferred payment undertaking, accepted Drafts or negotiated under reserve or against an
indemnity in respect of such discrepancy, the Issuing Bank, if any, shall not be thereby
relieved from any of their obligations under any provisions of this Article. Such reserves or
indemnity concerns only the relations between the remitting bank and the party towards
whom the reserve was made, or from whom, or on whose behalf the indemnity was
obtained.
Disclaim on Effectiveness of Documents
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Banks assume no liability or responsibility for the form sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness,
falsification or legal effect of any document, or for the general and/or particular conditions
stipulated in the document or superimposed thereon; nor do they assume any liability or
responsibility, quantity, weight, quality, condition, packing, delivery, value of existence of
the goods represented by any document, or for the goods faith or acts and/or commissions,
solvency, performance or standing of the consignors, the carrier, the forwards , the
consignees or the insurance of the goods or any other person whomsoever.
Then the following things can happen. These are indicated in the following:
1. Discrepancy found but the importer accepts - then the bank will lodge the documents
2. Discrepancy found and importer not agreed to accept - issuing bank would intimate
negotiating bank for revised document or return the documents to the negotiating bank for
necessary action. Here issuing bank is not bound to pay because the documents send by
exporter is not in accordance with the terms of Letter of Credit.
3. Documents are OK but importer is not willing to retire the documents - In this case bank is
obligated to pay the price of exported goods. Since importer did not pay for bill of exchange,
this payment by bank is one kind of credit to the importer and this credit in banking is
known as Forced Payment against Documents (PAD).
4. Everything is alright, but importer fails to clear goods from the port and request bank to
clear - in this case banks clear the goods and takes delivery of the same by paying customs
duty and sales tax etc. So, this expenditure is debited to the importer’s account and in
banking it is called LIM.
The above mentioned description could be pointed out as under:
a. The seller being satisfied with the terms and the conditions of the credit makes shipment
of the goods as per Letter of Credit terms.
b. After making the shipment of the goods in favor of the importer the exporter submits the
documents to the negotiating bank.
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
c. After receiving all the documents, the negotiating bank then checks the documents
against the credit. If the documents are found in order, the bank will pay, accept or
negotiate to National Bank
d. Branch & Bank received seal to be affixed on the forwarding schedule
e. The Bill of Exchange & transport documents must immediately be crossed to protect loss
or fraudulent.
Lodgment
After the scrutiny the following steps are taken step-by-step to process for lodgment of
import documents received form the negotiation bank. Lodgment means retirement of
funds. Usually payment is made within five days after the documents have been received. If
the payment is become deferred, the negotiating bank may claim interest (LIBOR) for
making delay. However, after receiving the documents Mohakhali branch authority contacts
with an importer, in which procedure they want to collect the documents. If requested PAD
is facilitated for twenty one days only.
Lodgment Constitutes the Followings:
Conversion of foreign currency amount of the bill and the foreign bank charges
separately into Taka by applying Bills Collection (B.C.) selling rate ruling on the date of
lodgment is done. If forward exchange was, the booked rate is applied.T24 Payment
against Documents (PAD) is created by Debiting PAD Account and Crediting Head Office
Account. Full particulars of the documents are entered in the prescribed PAD Register
allotting a consecutive serial number in the register. If the forward exchange rate is
booked then the booked rate is applied. Payment against Documents (PAD) is created by
Debiting PAD Account and Crediting Head Office Account. Full particulars of the
documents are entered in the prescribed PAD Register allotting a consecutive serial
number in the register.
Head Office (International Division) in receipt of the IBCA and the statement will respond
the entry by debit to branch account (through National Bank Limited General Account)
and contra credit to NOSTRO Account of the negotiating bank abroad. To arrange
necessary fund for payment, a requisition is sent to the International Department.
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
As the T.T & O.D rate is paid to the ID, the difference between these two rates remains
as exchange gain for the Branch.
As soon as above formalities are completed the importers are served with PAD bill
intimations for retirement of concerned import document. A letter of intimation (P.A.D.
intimation) regarding receipt of the documents should be sent to the applicant with a
request to take delivery of the documents on settlement of all dues against it and
mentioning the maturity date of P.A.D.
Amendment of L/C
After opening of L/C some times alteration to the original terms and conditions become
necessary. These amendments involve changes in
Unit price
Extension of validity the L/C
Documentary requirements etc.
Such amendments can be affected only if all the concerned parties agree i.e. writing duly
supported buy revised indent/ Pro-forma invoice. The issuing bank then advises the
required amendment to the advising bank. L/C amendment commission including postage is
charged to the clients A/C.
Endorsement by the Bank
The bank endorses the documents in following manner:
Document Endorsement
Bill of Exchange Receive/Payment for The National Bank
Limited
Commercial Invoices Invoice value certifies & remitted for The
National Bank Limited
Bill of Lading, Airway Bill, Truck Challan Deliver / Pay to the order of M/S ---, for
The National Bank Limited
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
LCA For The National Bank Limited
Then importer releases the importers goods from the port authority with the help of the
Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) agent, who, clears the goods from the port and hands over
the goods to the importers.
After completion of all official requirements C&F agent submits the bill of entry of the banks.
The Bill of Entry is wanted from the party for maintaining the evidence as the goods has
been arrived.
Delivery of Shipping Documents
If the bill is to be realized by debit to the importer’s account, the documents are handed
over to the importer to his duly authorized clearing and forwarding agent for clearance of
the goods form customs at his own account.
Payment Procedure of Import Documents
This is the most sensitive task of the Import Department. The officials have to be very much
careful while making payment. This task constitutes the following:
Date of Payment:
Usually payment is made within seven days after the documents have been received. If the
payment is become deferred, the negotiating bank may claim interest for making delay.
Preparing Sale Memo:
Sale memo is made at B.C. rate to the customer. As the T.T &O.D rate is paid to the ID,
difference between these two rates is exchange trading. Finally, an Inter Branch Exchange
riding Credit Advice is sent to ID.
Requisition for the Foreign Currency:
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
For arranging necessary fund for payment, a requisition is sent to the International
Department.
Transmission of Message:
Message is transmitted to the correspondent bank ensuring that payment is being made.
Retirement
The importer receives the intimation and gives necessary instruction to the bank for
retirement of the import bills or for the disposal of the shipping document to clear the
imported goods from the customs authority. The importer may instruct the bank to retire
the documents by debiting his account with the bank or may ask for LTR (Loan against Trust
Receipt.)
11.1.9) Reporting to Bangladesh Bank
At the end of every month, the reporting to Bangladesh Bank regarding the following
information is mandatory –
i) Filling of E-2/P-2 Schedule of S-1 category that covers the entire month’s
amount of import, category of goods, currency, county etc.
ii) Filling of E-3/P-3 Schedule of for all charges, commission with T/M Form.
iii) Disposal of IMP Form that includes:
a) Original IMP is forwarded to Bangladesh Bank with invoice and indent;
b) Duplicate IMP is kept with the branch along with the Bill of Entry/
Certified Invoice;
c) Triplicate IMP is kept with the branch for office record;
d) Quadruplicate is kept for submission to Bangladesh Bank in case of
imports where documents are retired.
11.2) Descriptions of Financing Facilities
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
11.2.1) Kinds of Credits Occurred in L/C Operation
During Letter of Credit operation some Credit facilities evolved to the importer and
exporter. This credit facilitates are mentioned below
Payment Against
Document (PAD)
a. This loan is related to cash Letter of Credit.
b. After opening Letter of Credit, foreign exporter sends goods to
the importer and a bill of exchange along with shipping documents
to the Letter of Credit opening bank. Upon receiving bill of
exchange and other documents, bank immediately make payment
to the exporter if no discrepancies are found on the shipping
documents. Bank hands over the shipping documents to the
importer only after his recovery of the payment from the importer.
Since bank pay to exporter on the basis of shipping documents, this
is called Payment against Documents.
Loan Against
Imported
Merchandise
(LIM)
a. LIM is occurred from PAD.
b. After payment to the exporter on the basis of shipping
documents, bank recovers the amount from the importer.
Sometimes for financial crisis, importer fails to pay the amount
stipulated in bill of exchange to the Opening Bank. In this case, he
request to the bank to treat PAD as credit and handover the
shipping documents to him so that he can clear the imported goods
from the port. Then banks convert the PAD to regular credit and
hand over the documents to the importer, and take the imported
goods as security for the loan. Since this loan is given on the
imported goods, this is called Loan against Imported Merchandise.
Duration of this loan is one month only. If the loan is no repaid after
one month, it is treated as forced LIM.
IP Loan a. When Letter of Credit opener has no sufficient fund to purchase
Foreign Exchange to open Letter of Credit, then bank provides him
credit to purchase necessary foreign exchange under the WES/SEM.
This loan is called Import Loan under WES/SEM or IP loan.
36
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
11.2.2) different sources of Financing for Importers
Loan Against Trust Receipts (LTR)
Advances against a Trust Receipt obtained from the Customer are allowed to only first class
tested parties when documents covering an import shipment of other goods pledged to the
Bank as scrutiny are given without payment. However, for such advances prior
permission/sanction form Head Office must be obtained.
The customer holds the goods or their sale proceeds in trust for the Bank, till such time, the
Loan allowed against the Trust Receipts is fully paid off. The Trust Receipt is a document
which crated the Banker’s lien on the goods as practically amount hypothecation of the
proceeds of sale in discharge of the lien.
Period Of Trust Receipt
The Advance allowed against Trust Receipt must be adjusted within the stipulated period. It
should be noted that the sale proceeds of goods held in trust must be deposited in the Bank
by the borrower initially irrespective of the period of Trust Receipt.
Fortnightly statement of sale of LTR goods to be obtained forms the customer and be
reviewed to ensure that the sale proceeds have been properly deposited towards
adjustment of the loan.
12) Activities of foreign exchange branch supporting export
The goods and Services sold by Bangladesh to foreign households, businessmen and
Government are called export. The export trade of the country is regulated by the Imports
and Exports (control) Act, 1950. There are a number of formalities, which an exporter has to
37
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
fulfill before and after shipment of goods. The exports from Bangladesh are subject to
export trade control exercised by the Ministry Of Commerce through Chief Controller of
Imports and Exports (CCI & E). No exporter is allowed to Bangladesh exports about 40% of
its readymade garments products to USA Most of the exports who export through NBL
readymade garment exports they open exports L/Cs here to exports their goods ,which they
open against the import L/Cs opened by their foreign importers. Export L/C operation is just
reverse of the import L/C operation .For exporting goods by the local exporter ,bank may act
as advising banks and collecting bank ( negotiable bank) for the exporter.
12.1) Export Policies to be complied
The Ministry of Commerce, GOB formulates the Export policies that provide overall
guideline and incentives for promotion of export in Bangladesh. These policies are
formulated to cover a five year period. Exports from Bangladesh are regulated by some Acts,
Guidelines and authorities. Bangladesh Bank issues Guidelines and Circulars in compliance
with Foreign Exchange Regulation Act of 1947. It controls physical and payment aspects of
the exports. Export Policy Order is issued by Ministry of Commerce under the authority
given to it by Export Import Act of 1950. The current Export Policy outlines the
Government’s export development strategies and lays down the package of incentives to
promote exports. Apart from this, it provide list of items which are either banned for export
or whose export is subject to fulfillment of certain conditions.
12.2) Mode of Assistance to Export
As an advising bank
It receives documents from the foreign importer and hands it over to the exporter .Some
times it’s add confirmation on the L/C on request from the opening bank. By adding
confirmation it assumes the responsibility to make payment to the exporter.
As a Negotiating Bank
It negotiates the bill and other snipping documents in favor of the exporter .that is, it
collects the proceeds of the export –bill from the drawer and credits the exporter accounts
38
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
for the same .Collection proceeded from the export bill is deposited in the bank NOSTRO
account of the importer country. Some times the bank purchases the bill at discount and
waits till maturity of the bill matures; banks present it to the drawer to encase it. in our
country ,export and import operation of bank is very much related with one another
because of use of Back –to-Back L/C is set in such that it can be paid out of export proceeds
12.3) Kinds of Export L/C
Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 nobody can export by post and otherwise than by
post any goods either directly or indirectly to any place outside Bangladesh, unless a
declaration is furnished by the exporter to the collector of customs or to such other person
as the Bangladesh Bank (BB) may specify in this behalf that foreign exchange representing
the full export value of the goods has been or will be disposed of in a manner and within a
period specified by BB.
Exports section deals with two types of L/C that are as follows-
12.3.1) Back to Back L/C
In National Bank Ltd., Mohakhali branch, Back to Back (BTB) Letter of Credit is an important
part of Export procedure. To export goods, the exporter needs raw materials, accessories or
other inputs to produce those goods, which might be required to import from other
countries. This is done through BTB L/C.
BTB L/C mechanism involves two separate L/C, one is the Master L/C or the Export L/C and
another is the BTB letter of credit. The BTB L/C is issued against the Master Export L/C. it can
be up to 75% of the value of the original master L/C. BTB letter of credit is used to import
the inputs generally on credit terms up to 180 days on the strength of the foreign letter of
credit received from the buyers.
39
Buyer, USA instructs his Bank to issue an Import L/C in favor of Lenny Fashions Ltd, Bangladesh.USA Bank issues a L/C and forwards the same to Lenny Fashions Ltd. through a B’deshi Bank (e.g. National Bank, Mohakhali Branch)
National Bank issues a Back to Back L/C and forwards the same to 'Y' Textile Ltd. through another Exporter Bank.
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Features of BTB L/C
It is a kind of Import L/C to procure goods or raw materials for further processing.
The L/C is issued against the Export L/C.
It is a kind of Export finance.
Usually no margin is required to open BTB L/C.
The application is registered with CCI & E.
The L/C value should not exceed the admissible percentage of net FOB value of
relative Master L/C.
Usance period will be up to 180 days.
The arrangement of BTB L/C is such that the Export L/C matures first to that out of
this export profit, the BTB L/C is paid out.[
Formalities and Procedure
Besides the general instruction, for opening BTB L/C, NBL uses the following guidelines:
The industry applying for opening the BTB L/C should be recognized by the
competent authority as an export oriented industry and process a valid Bonded
Warehouse license.
The Master Export L/C against which the opening of back to back L/C is requested
should have validity period adequate to cover the time needed for import of inputs,
manufacture of merchandise and shipment to the consignee.
The BTB L/C should conform to the Uniform Customs and Practices for Documentary
Credit (UCPDC), ICC Publication-500.
Inland BTB L/C denominated in foreign currency may be opened in favor of local
manufacturers or suppliers of inputs against Master Export L/C received by export
oriented manufacturing units under the bonded warehouse system up to value limit
applicable as per prescribed value addition requirements.
The Export section of National Bank Ltd., Mohakhali Branch is not doing that well compared
to their target budget. The performance of the branch is not satisfactory. This branch
usually exports RMG, fabric, sweater, etc.
Flow Diagram of Back-to-Back L/C:
40
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Documents Required for Opening a Back-to-back L/C
In NATIONAL BANK Mohakhali Branch, following papers/ documents are required for
opening a back-to-back L/C-
Master L/C
Valid Import Registration Certificate (IRC) and Export Registration Certificate
(ERC)
L/C Application and LCAF duly filled in and signed
Proforma Invoice or Indent
Insurance Cover Note with money receipt
IMP Form duly signed
In addition to the above documents, the followings are also required to export oriented
garment industries while requesting for opening a back-to-back L/C –
Textile Permission
Valid Bonded Warehouse License
Quota Allocation Letter issued by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) in favor of
the applicant for quota items
In case the factory premises is a rented one, Letter of Disclaimer duly executed by the
owner of the house/premises to be submitted. A checklist to open back-to-back L/C is as
follows –
i) Applicant is registered with CCI&E and has bonded warehouse license;
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
ii) The master L/C has adequate validity period and has no defective clause;
iii) L/C value shall not exceed the admissible percentage of net FOB value of
relative Master L/C;
iv) Usage Period will be up to 180 days.
Check Points Noted in Master L/C
Following defective points are usually found in the Master L/C. So, these points are so much
carefully checked by the Bank officials. They are-
i) Issuing Bank is not reputed;
ii) Advising credit by the advising Bank without authentication;
iii) Port of destination absent;
iv) Inspection clause;
v) Nomination of specific shipping/Air line or nomination of specified vessel by
subsequent amendment;
vi) Bill of lading endorses blank, endorses to 3rd Bank, endorses to buyer or 3rd
party;
vii) No specific reimbursing clause;
viii) UCP clause not mentioned;
ix) Shipment/ presentation period is not sufficient;
x) Original documents to be sent to buyer or nominated agent;
xi) FCR or HAWB consigned to applicant or buyer;
xii) “Shipper’s load and count is not acceptable” clause;
xiii) L/C shall expire in the country of the issuing Bank;
xiv) Negotiation is restricted.
Payment of Back-to-Back L/C
On 30/ 60/ 90/ 120/ 180 days of maturity period, deferred payment is made. Payment is
given after realizing export proceeds from the L/C Issuing Bank. For Garments Sector, the
duration can be maximum 180 days. In case of export failure or non realization/ short
42
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
realization of export proceeds, forced loan i.e. OAP has to be created in order to settle the
Back to Back L/C payment.
Accounting Treatment of Back to Back L/C
At the time of arrival document, the following vouchers are passed-
Customer’s A/C...........................................Debit
Commission on acceptance..................................Credit.
At the time of payment made,
When fund is at hand, the following accounting entries are given-
Sundry Deposit Margin on acceptance.......Debit
Customer’s A/C....................................................Credit.
If the party is paid in foreign currency, B.C. rate is applied in this regard. International
Department takes the T.T. & O.D. rate. If the payment is made to ID in local currency in
notional rate, ID follows T.T Clean Rate. When the party is be paid, OD Sight rate is followed.
When fund is not available, the following vouchers are to be passed-
OAP (Own acceptance Purchase)................Debit
Customer’s A/C....................................................Credit.
12.3.2) Export Letter of Credit
The other type of L/C facility offered by Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch is Export L/C.
Bangladesh exports a large quantity of goods and services to foreign households.
Readymade textile garments (both knitted and wove), jute, jute-made products, frozen
shrimps, tea are the main goods that Bangladeshi exporters exports to foreign countries.
Garments Sector is the largest sector that exports the lion share of the country’s export.
Bangladesh exports most of its readymade garments products to USA and European
43
Exporter: Obtaining Export Registration Certificate (ERC) from CCI&E
Exporter: Securing export order from buyer or through agent, Receiving L/C from buyer’s bank through an advising bank in Bangladesh.
Bank:Certification of Exp form by authorized dealer
Shipment of goods
Preparation of export documents by negotiating bank
Scrutinizing export documents by Negotiating Bank
Are the doc’s in order?
Negotiate documents
Ask exporter to remove discrepancies
Retire FDBP
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Community (EC) countries. Bangladesh exports about 40 % of its readymade garments
products to USA. Most of the exporters who export through Mohakhali Foreign Exchange
Branch are readymade garment exporters. They open L/Cs in this branch to export their
goods, which they open against the import L/Cs opened by their foreign importers.
12.4) Foreign Exchange Branch Involvement in Total Export Procedure
The export trade of the country is regulated by the Imports & Exports (Control) Act, 1950.
There are a number of formalities that an exporter has to fulfill before and after shipment of
goods. These formalities or procedures are enumerated as follows –
Dispatch documents for collection with Reimbursement Bank
44
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Procedure for Export Registration Certificate (ERC)
To export goods from Bangladesh, an exporter has to be registered to get the permission of
exporting. Under the export policy of Bangladesh, the exporter has to get valid Export
Registration Certificate (ERC) from Chief Controller of Import and Export (CCI & E). Yearly
renewal of ERC is required. Following documents are required to apply for the ERC:
Nationality and Asset Certificates of Proprietor/Partners
Memorandum & Articles of Association and Incorporation Certificate in case of
Limited Company
Bank Certificate
Income Tax Certificate
Copy of valid Trade License Certificate
Confirming the Export Order
After getting the ERC, the exporter may proceed to confirm the export order by contacting
the buyers directly or through agents. The exporter can also take the help from the liaison
officer of foreign companies, buying house, Export promoting organization, Bangladesh
Mission Abroad, Chamber of Commerce, trade fairs, websites, etc.
Obtaining Exp Form
When the registration is done properly, the exporter contacts its bank, in this case, National
Bank Ltd. with the trade license, ERC and other related papers to get the Exp form. NBL
checks all the papers and if satisfied, issues Exp form to the exporter.
Receiving the Letter of Credit
After the contract is signed, exporter asks the buyer/importer for Letter of Credit (L/C),
clearly stating the terms and conditions of export and payment details. On receipt of the
L/C, the advising bank checks it thoroughly using a checklist.
To avoid any kind of future disagreement, the following things should be kept into
consideration:
The terms and condition of L/C are definite, clear and explicit and also are in
conformity with those of contract
The L/C is an irrevocable one, preferably confirmed by the advising bank
45
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
The L/C allows sufficient time for shipment and presentation.
Advising of the L/C to the Exporter
When National Bank Ltd. is confirmed about the authentication of the L/C, it takes the
following steps as the advising bank:
The bank communicates with the beneficiary and advises him the L/C receipt
favoring the beneficiary.
NBL maintains an L/C advising register to enter all the particulars of L/C with serial
number of each L/C. If there is any amendment, that record is also kept in the
register. Only request of the issuing bank for any amendment is accepted. NBL
charges a certain amount of money for L/C advising and amendment.
A suitable clause is incorporated at the bottom of the L/C stating that the L/C is
subject to the provision of UCPDC-ICC Publication Number 500.
Procuring the Materials
When the deal is final and the L/C is opened by the importer, the exporter starts the task for
procuring or manufacturing the contracted merchandise.
Endorsement on Exp Form
Before shipment of goods, it is necessary to get all the copies of Exp forms endorsed by
National Bank Ltd. the exporter submits export form with commercial invoice and officers of
NBL check it properly. If they are satisfied, they certify the Exp form, without which
exporters cannot make shipment.
Shipment of Goods
The next step for the exporter is to make the necessary arrangement for shipment of goods
as per L/C terms and condition. The exporter needs to prepare and submit shipping
documents for Payment/Acceptance/Negotiation in due time.
Examination of Documents
In case of Foreign Trade, there is an important thing to understand, that is, Banks deal only
with documents, not with goods or commodities. For this reason, it is strongly advisable to
scrutinize and examine each and every document with great care and caution. The officers
46
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
of NBL give much emphasis on scrutinizing that the documents are as per the terms of L/C
before negotiation of the export bills.
Export Documents Checking
General verification: -
a) L/C restricted or not.
b) Exporter submitted documents before expiry date of the credit.
c) Shortage of documents etc.
Particular verification:
a) Each and every document should be verified with the L/C.
Cross verification:
a) Verified one documents to another
Negotiation of Export Document
Negotiation of export documents stands for payment of value to the exporter against the
documents stipulated in the L/C. In National Bank Ltd., there are two ways of negotiation of
export documents. These are:
FDBP: If documents are in order, NBL purchases or negotiates those on the basis of
banker-customer relationship. This is known as Foreign Documentary Bill Purchase (FDBP).
Later, NBL sends the documents to the L/C issuing bank for payment with a forwarding
letter. An FDBP register is maintained to record all the details of FDBP.
FDBC: If NBL is not satisfied with the documents submitted or if the bank has any doubt
regarding the documents, it gives exporters reasonable time to deal with the discrepancies
or to send the documents to the L/C issuing bank for collection. It is called Foreign
Documentary Bill for Collection (FDBC). In this case, the exporter will receive payment only
when the issuing bank gives payment. So it is necessary to have a regular follow-up with the
L/C opening bank if there is any delay in getting payments, which NBL does efficiently.
47
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Following these procedure, National Bank Ltd. is operating its Export section. With the
negotiation of export documents, this procedure ends. If there is any discrepancy, NBL
cannot negotiate the documents. So either the bank asks exporters to correct those
documents or on request of the exporter, NBL sends the documents to the issuing bank
without negotiating them.
Payment Procedure for FDBP
1) After purchasing the documents, NBL gives the following entries:
FDPB A/C Dr. (at OD sight rate)
Customer A/C Cr. (Before realization of
proceeds)
Bank would realize only postage charges from the exporter.
Foreign documentary bills for collection (FDBC)
NBL forwards the documents for collection due to the following reasons:-
If the document have discrepancies.
If the exporter is a new client.
FDBC signifies that the exporter will receive payment only when the issuing bank gives
payment. NBL make regular follow-up with the L/C opening Bank in case of any delay in
getting payment.
Settlement of Local Bills
1. The settlement of local bills is done in the following ways:-
2. The customer submits the L/C to NBL along with the documents to negotiate
3. NBL official scrutinizes the documents to ensure the conformity with the terms and
conditions.
48
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
4. The documents are then forwarded to the L/C opening bank.
5. The L/C issuing bank gives the acceptance and forwards an acceptance letter.
6. Payment is given to the customer on either by collection basis or by purchasing the
document.
Mode of payment of export bill under L/C
As per UCPDC 500, 1993 revision there are four types of credit. These are as follows:
1) Sight Payment Credit
In a sight payment Credit, the bank pays the stipulated sum immediately against the
exporter’s presentation of the documents.
2) Deferred payment Credit
In deferred payment, the bank agrees to pay on a specified future date or event, after
presentation of the export documents No bill of exchange is involved. Payment is given to
the party at the rate of D.A60-90-120-180 as the case may be. But the Head office is paid at
T.T clean rate. The difference between the two rates us the exchange trading for the branch.
3) Acceptance Credit
In acceptance credit, the exporter presents a bill of exchange Payable to himself and drawn
at the agreed tenor (that is, on a specified future date or event) on the bank that is to
accept it. The bank signs its acceptance on the bill and returns it to the exporter. The
exporter can then represent it for payment on maturity. Alternatively, he can discount it in
Order to obtain immediate payment.
4) Negotiation Credit
In Negotiation credit, the exporter has to present a bill of exchange payable to him in
addition to other documents that the bank negotiates.
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
12.5) Export Financing
Financing exports constitutes an important part of a bank’s activities. Exporters require
financial services at four different stages of their export operation. During each of these
phases exporters need different types of financial assistance depending on the nature of
the export contract.
Pre-shipment credit
Post-shipment credit
12.5.1) Pre-shipment credit
Pre-shipment credit, as the name suggests, is given to finance the activities of an exporter
prior to the actual shipment of the goods for export. The purpose of such credit is to meet
working capital needs starting from the point of purchasing of raw materials to final
shipment of goods for export to foreign country. Before allowing such credit to the
exporters the bank takes into consideration about the credit worthiness, export
performance of the exporters, together with all other necessary information required for
sanctioning the credit in accordance with the existing rules and regulations. Pre-shipment
credit is given for the following purposes:
Cash for local procurement and meeting related expenses.
Procuring and processing of goods for export.
Packing and transporting of goods for export.
Payment of insurance premium.
Inspection fees.
Freight charges etc.
An exporter can obtain credit facilities against lien on the irrevocable, confirmed and
unrestricted export letter of credit in form of the followings:
a) Export cash credit (Hypothecation)
b) Export cash credit (Pledge)
c) Export cash credit against trust receipt.
d) Packing credit.
50
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
e) Credit against Red-clause letter of credit.
(a) Export cash credit (Hypothecation):
Under this arrangement, a credit is sanctioned against hypothecation of the raw materials
or finished goods intended for export. Such facility is allowed to the first class exporters. As
the bank has got no security in this case, except charge documents and lien on exports L/C
or contract, bank normally insists on the exporter in furnishing collateral security. The
letter of hypothecation creates a charge against merchandise in favor of the bank. But
neither r the ownership nor the possession is passed to it.
(b) Export cash Credit (Pledge):
Such Credit facility is allowed against pledge of exportable goods or raw materials. In this
case cash credit facility is extended against pledge of goods to be stored in the go-down
under bank’s control by signing letter of pledge and other pledge documents. The exporter
surrenders the physical possession of the goods under banks effective control as security
for payment of bank dues. In the event of failure of the exporter to honor his commitment,
the bank can sell the pledged merchandise for recovery the advance.
(c) Export Cash Credit against Trust Receipt:
In this case, credit limit is sanctioned against trust receipt (TR). Here also unlike pledge, the
exportable goods remain in the custody of the exporter. He is required to execute a
stamped export trust receipt in favor of the bank, he holds wherein a declaration is made
that goods purchased with financial assistance of bank in trust for the bank. This type of
credit is granted when the exporter wants to utilize the credit for processing, packing and
rendering the goods in exportable condition and when it seems that exportable goods
cannot be taken into bank’s custody. This facility is allowed only to the first class party and
collateral security is generally obtained in this case.
(d) Packing Credit:
Packing Credit is essentially a short-term advance granted by a Bank to an exporter for
assisting him to buy, process, manufacture, and pack and ships the goods. Generally for
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
movement of goods from the hinterland areas to the ports of shipment the Banks provide
interim facilities by way of Packing Credit. This type of credit is sanctioned for the
transitional period starting from dispatch of goods till the negotiation of the export
documents. Practically except for single transaction, most of the pre-shipment credits are
allowed in the form of limits duly sanctioned by Bank in favor of regular exporters for a
particular period. The drawings are required to be adjusted fully once within a period of 3
to 6 months. Suiting to the breed and nature of export, sometimes an exporter may also
be allowed to avail a combined Cash Credit and Packing Credit limit with fixed ceiling on
revolving basis. But in no case the borrower would be allowed to exceed individual credit
limit fixed for the purpose. The drawings under Export Cash Credit limits are generally
adjusted by the drawing in packing credit limit, which is, in turn liquidated by the
negotiation of export documents.
(e) Advance against Red-clause Letter of Credit:
Under Red clause letter of credit, the opening bank authorizes the Advising
Bank/Negotiating Bank to make advance to the beneficiary prior to shipment to enable
him to procure and store the exportable goods in anticipation of his effecting the shipment
and submitting a bill under the L/C. as the clause containing such authority is printed in red
ink, the L/C is called Red clause and Green clause respectively. Though it has not
prohibited, yet it is very rare in Bangladesh.
12.5.2) Post Shipment Credit
This type of credit refers to the credit facilities extended to the exporters by the banks
after shipment of the goods against export documents. Necessity for such credit arises as
the exporter cannot afford to wait for a long time for without paying
manufacturers/suppliers. Before extending such credit, it is necessary on the part of banks
to look into carefully the financial soundness of exporters and buyers as well as other
relevant documents connected with the export in accordance with the rules and
regulations in force. Banks in our country extend post shipment credit to the exporters
through:
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
a) Negotiation of documents under L/C;
b) Advances against Export Bills surrendered for collection;
(a) Negotiation of documents under L/C
The exporter presents the relative documents to the negotiating bank after the shipment
of the goods. A slight deviation of the documents from those specified in the L/C may raise
an excuse to the issuing bank to refuse the reimbursement of the payment already made
by the negotiating bank. So the negotiating bank must be careful, prompt, systematic and
indifferent while scrutinizing the documents relating to the export.
(b) Advances against Export Bills surrendered for collection
Banks generally accept bills for collection of proceeds when they are not drawn under an
L/C or when the documents, even though drawn against an L/C contain some
discrepancies. Bills drawn under L/C, without any discrepancy in the documents, are
generally negotiated by the bank and the exporter gets the money from the bank
immediately. However, if the bill is not eligible for negotiation, the exporter may obtain
advance from the bank against the security of export bill.
53
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
CHAPTER-D:
Success in Facilitating Foreign Trade
during: 2006-2009
54
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
13) Performance of import sectionPerformance of import section of NBL Mohakhali Branch can be measured by using three
parameters such as: growth of import business of NBL Mohakhali Branch, Contribution of
the Branch to total import of the country and comparison with other bank’s import
performance.
13.1) Detail information about L/C opened during 2006-2009
Information about L/C is the prime source of information while demonstrating the analysis
of performance of a foreign exchange branch of any bank. NBL Mohakhali Branch has four
basic type of import L/C: Cash, B2B Local, B2B Foreign and EDF. Before proceeding with the
analysis part, detail information about import is given below:
I. Number of L/C opened
Nature of L/C Years
2006 2007 2008 2009
Cash 238 401 611 661
Back-to-Back (Foreign) 449 747 1083 827
Back-to-Back (local) 1411 1863 2744 2483
Export Development Fund 34 31 96 81
Total 2132 3042 4535 4052
II. Amount of L/C Opened (US Dollar)
Nature of L/C Years
2006 2007 2008 2009
(USD) (USD) (USD) (USD)
Cash 23141917 62000086 70524422 60524000
Back-to-Back (Foreign) 21392065 35291957 48965947 32298000
Back-to-Back (local) 15941108 23586864 40744311 35499000
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Export Development Fund 3528826 2874052 6637950 5517000
Total 64003916 123752959 166872630 133838000
III. Amount of L/C Opened (BD Taka)
Nature of L/C Years
2006 2007 2008 2009
(BDT) (BDT) (BDT) (BDT)
Cash 1504224600 4278352483 4901009000 4204260500
Back-to-Back (Foreign) 1390484200 2454841000 3393914000 2244166500
Back-to-Back (local) 1036172000 1633833000 2821493000 2466965500
Export Development
Fund
229373700 199674000 460255500 383194000
Total 4160254500 8566700483 11576671500 9298586500
13.2) Growth of Import Business Of NBL, Mohakhali
Growth of import business of NBL, Mohakhali Branch can be presented in two ways such as:
growth on the basis of total number of L/C opened and growth on the basis of total amount
of L/C opened. Here, growth is calculated by comparing current year’s performance with the
previous year’s performance like growth of 2007 is based on the information of 2006.
Growth of import Business of NBL, Mohakhali Branch can be illustrated graphically:
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
2007 2008 2009
-90%
-40%
10%
60%
110%
160%
210%Growth on the basis of the number of L/C opened
Total No of L/C Opened
EDF
Back-to-Bck L/C (Local)
Back-to-Back L/C (Foreign)
cash
Years
% o
f Gro
wth
2007 2008 2009-25.00%
25.00%
75.00%
125.00%
175.00%
Growth on the basis of the amount of L/C opened (BDT)
Cash
Back-to-Back (Foreign)
Back-to-Back (Local)
EDF
Total Growth
Years
% o
f Gro
wth
From the above graphical presentation, it is clear that in the year 2007 and 2008 NBL,
Mohakhali Branch had achieved a substantial growth but in the year 2009 it lost its
momentum to some extent. From the viewpoint of total number of L/C, Cash L/C
maintained a positive growth during 2006-2009 though from the amount of L/C view point,
it failed to maintain a positive growth during that period of time.
Both back-to-back L/C had a positive growth in the year 2007 and 2008 but in the year 2009
both of them suffered a loss in percentage due an increased competition and world-wide
financial distress. There was an abnormal trend of growth of EDF L/C. NBL, Mohakhali
Branch had a great performance on issuing EDF L/C in the year 2008 but in 2007 and 2009
its performance was very poor.
57
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
13.3) Contribution to Total Import of Bangladesh (Million Taka)
Year Total Import in
Bangladesh
Total Import in
National Bank
LTD
% of National Bank ltd’s import
in total import in Bangladesh
2006 958750.00 42,458.50 4.43%
2007 1184135.92 62,759.00 5.30%
2008 1415588.39 78,226.32 5.53%
2009 1489315.73 70,968.20 4.77%
2006 2007 2008 20090.00%
1.00%
2.00%
3.00%
4.00%
5.00%
6.00%
NBL's contribution in total import of Bangladesh
NBL's contribution in total import of Bangladesh
From the above table and graphical illustration it can be said that apart from the last year’s
performance, NBL’s contribution in total import of our country had been boosting over time
and in the year 2008 it was highest (5.53%). From the bank’s sole perspective, its
performance was great until the year 2008 but in the year 2009 it was deteriorated in the
light of fierce competition and global economic downturn.
Year Total Import in
National Bank LTD
Total Import in
Mohakhali Branch
% of Mohakhali Br
import in total
import of National
58
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
bank
2006 42,458.50 4,160.25 9.80%
2007 62,759.00 8,566.70 13.65%
2008 78,226.32 11,576.67 14.80%
2009 70,968.20 9,298.59 13.10%
Year Total Import in
Bangladesh
Total Import in
Mohakhali Branch,
National Bank LTD
% of Mohakhali Br
import in total
import of
Bangladesh
2006 958750.00 4,160.25 0.43%
2007 1184135.92 8,566.70 0.72%
2008 1415588.39 11,576.67 0.82%
2009 1489315.73 9,298.59 0.62%
Though NBL, Mohakhali Branch provided a trifling percentage of total import of Bangladesh,
its contribution has been increasing over the year apart from the 2009’s performance. Its
highest contribution was 0.82% of total import of Bangladesh in 2008 and the lowest
contribution to total import of our country was 0.43% in the year 2006.
13.4) Comparative performance of import business (Million Taka)
Comparative performance focuses solely on the bank and it is not based on the
performance of a particular branch. Here NBL’s total import performance is compared with
four other commercial bank’s total import performance during the period 2006 to 2009.
Name of the Bank Years (million taka)
2005 2006 2007 2008
National Bank Ltd 31,648.20 42,458.50 62,759.00 78,226.32
59
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Shahjalal Islami
Bank Ltd
13,114.00 18,684.00 25,490.00 42,551.00
Standard Bank Ltd 16,145.00 18,270.00 26,155.00 35,689.00
Exim Bank Ltd 41,432.00 49596.70 61399.40 78540.49
2005 2006 2007 200810,000.00
18,000.00
26,000.00
34,000.00
42,000.00
50,000.00
58,000.00
66,000.00
74,000.00
Comparison of Yearly Import Performance
NBL SIBL Standard Bank Exim BankYears
% o
f Gro
wth
Form the above graphical demonstration it is clear that NBL is well ahead of
Standard Bank Ltd and Social Islami Bank Ltd in facilitating import and it faced a
fierce competition with Exim bank Ltd in the same field of performance. It was
interesting to see that in the year 2008 NBL’s performance is almost equal to its
competitor Exim Bank.
14) Performance of Export Section
60
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Like the performance of import section, the export section of NBL Mohakhali Branch can
also be measured by using three parameters such as: growth of Export business of NBL
Mohakhali Branch, Contribution of the Branch to total Export of the country and comparison
with other bank’s Export performance.
14.1) Detail information about L/C handled during 2006-2009
There are two parameters to judge the performance of export section of NBL, Mohakhali
Branch and they are: Local Documentary Bills for Collection and Foreign Documentary Bills
for Collection. Detail information about those parameters is presented below:
I. Number of L/C Handled
Nature Years
2006 2007 2008 2009
LDBC 1433 1982 2231 2684
FDBC 1207 1758 2516 2699
Total 2640 3740 4747 5383
II. Amount of L/C Handled (US Dollar)
Nature of L/C Years
2006 2007 2008 2009
(USD) (USD) (USD) (USD)
LDBC 24325871 32200355.98 43446067.11 43576138.08
FDBC 54405198 81910537.78 128107509.90 122397512.57
Total 78731069 114110893.8 171553577 165973650.7
III. Amount of L/C Handled (BD Taka)
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Nature of L/C Years
2006 2007 2008 2009
(BDT) (BDT) (BDT) (BDT)
LDBC 1679843000 2200063000 2968463000 2985184000
FDBC 3752292000 5550410000 8486226000 8383456000
Total 5432135000 7750473000 11454689000 11368640000
14.2) Growth of Export Business of NBL
Here is the graphical illustration of the growth of export business of NBL, Mohakhali Branch.
Two graphical presentations are laid for better understanding of the export growth of NBL,
Mohakhali Branch.
2007 2008 2009-2.00%
8.00%
18.00%
28.00%
38.00%
48.00%
58.00%
68.00%
78.00%
88.00%
Growth on the Basis of the Amount of Export Documents Handled
LDBC (Local Documentary Bills for Collec-tion)
FDBC (Foreign Documentary Bills for Collec-tion)
Total Growth
Years
% o
f Gro
wth
62
Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
2007 2008 20095.00%
10.00%15.00%20.00%25.00%30.00%35.00%40.00%45.00%50.00%55.00%
Growth on the Basis of the Number of Documents Handled
LDBC (Local Documentary Bills for Collec-tion)
FDBC (Foreign Documentary Bills for Collec-tion)
Total Growth
Years
% o
f Gro
wth
From the above two graphics it can be stated that Mohakhali Branch’s export business has
not been growing as it might be expected. The growth lines on the chart revealed that the
growth of export business has been declining since 2007 and the percentage of growth was
lowest in the year 2009.
14.3) Contribution to Total Export of Bangladesh (Million Taka)
Year Total Export in
Bangladesh
Total Export in
National Bank LTD
% of National Bank
ltd’s Export in total
Export in
Bangladesh
2006 684450.00 28,019.20 4.09%
2007 840488.08 31,824.00 3.79%
2008 980557.30 36,284.44 3.70%
2009 1081559.98 38,053.32 3.52%
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
2006 2007 2008 20093.20%3.30%3.40%3.50%3.60%3.70%3.80%3.90%4.00%4.10%4.20%
NBL's contribution in total Export of Bangladesh
NBL's contribution in total export of Bangladesh
From the above table and graphical illustration it can be said that NBL’s contribution in total
export of our country had been declining over time and in the year 2009 it was lowest
(3.52%). From the bank’s sole perspective, its performance was great in the year 2006 and
then in the following years it had been deteriorated in the light of fierce competition and
global economic downturn.
Year Total Export in
National Bank LTD
Total Export in
Mohakhali Branch,
NBL
% of Mohakhali Br
Export in total
Export of National
bank
2006 28,019.20 5432.14 19.39%
2007 31,824.00 7750.47 24.35%
2008 36,284.44 11,454.69 31.57%
2009 38,053.32 11,368.64 29.88%
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
Year Total Export in
Bangladesh
Total Export in
Mohakhali Branch,
NBL
% of Mohakhali Br
Export in total
Export of
Bangladesh
2006 684450.00 5432.14 0.79%
2007 840488.08 7750.47 0.92%
2008 980557.30 11,454.69 1.17%
2009 1081559.98 11,368.64 1.05%
Though NBL, Mohakhali Branch provided an insignificant percentage of total export of
Bangladesh, its contribution has been increasing over the year apart from the 2009’s
performance. Its highest contribution was 1.17% of total export of Bangladesh in 2008 and
the lowest contribution to total export of our country was 0.79% in the year 2006.
14.4) Comparative performance of Export business
Comparative performance focuses solely on the bank and it is not based on the
performance of a particular branch. Here in the following page NBL’s total export
performance is compared with four other commercial bank’s total export performance
during the period 2006 to 2009.
Name of the Bank Years
2005 2006 2007 2008
National Bank Ltd 21,344.10 28,019.20 31,824.00 36,284.44
Shahjalal Islami
Bank Ltd
6,295.00 11,282.00 15,084.00 26,347.00
Standard Bank 7,569.00 15,169.00 17,788.00 25,072.00
Exim Bank Ltd 31285.00 46234.60 55,790.42 76,465.62
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
2005 2006 2007 20085,000.00
30,000.00
55,000.00
80,000.00
Comparison of Yearly Import Performance
NBL SIBL Standard Bank Exim Bank
Years
% o
f Gro
wth
Form the above graphical demonstration it is clear that NBL is well ahead of Standard Bank
Ltd and Social Islami Bank Ltd in facilitating export and it lagged behind Exim bank Ltd in the
same field of performance. Though their paid-up capital is almost equal, their performance
in facilitating foreign trade has been significantly different from each other.
(Note: yearly export & import information extracted from the website of the Ministry of
Commerce)
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
CHAPTER- E:
Findings
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
15) Problems of Foreign Exchange Branch, NBL
1. Some profitable goods are prohibited.
2. Some rules and regulations of government work as barrier for the free flow of
remittance, export and import of profitable goods.
3. Unholy intervention of the superior members of various sectors.
4. Some foreign buyers ask for discount showing the reason that quality of goods has
not been maintained.
5. Rate is very competitive.
6. Untimely shipment due to lack of backward linkage.
7. Labor problem causes huge problem for the bank.
8. Uneasiness exists due to handling new IT system.
9. Discontinuity of same type of transaction which occurs in infrequency of work
resulting in slow dynamics of work.
10. Delay payment in export.
16) Prospects of Foreign Exchange Branch, NBL
To increase income from Foreign Exchange Business the following measures has been
taken-
1. To ensure internal consumption of inflow of foreign currency to the maximum amount to
gain more exchange income.
2. To increase import Export business in terms of volume & No. of transactions.
3. To ensure rendering all types of Foreign Exchange business services in all AD branches.
4. To allow competitive rate in different areas of business to encourage more volume of
business.
5. To increase Bank Guarantee business against counter guarantee of foreign banks.
6. To ensure automated internal Audit to prevent leakage / laps of Income.
7. To route business through correspondents to optimize rebate income.
8. To conduct in-depth study on ancillary income to get insight as to which business area we
should put more emphasis on.
9. To revise update and incorporate charge/Commission from time to time to optimize income
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
10. To reduce cost of transactions/ business through system development optimization of
Manpower, Automation etc (simplification of F. Ex. Accounting, Centralization of Foreign
Trade).
1) To increase export business of NBL has adopt the following measures-
1. To increase market share in export items where we have lower market share.
2. To select exporters from the market with good repatriation record and allow them facilities
for execution of export.
3. To encourage the existing clients to route entire export business through NBL.
4. To allow competitive rates to encourage export business.
5. To induct new exporter clients who do not require project finance.
6. To ensure close monitoring of the export oriented industries especially in the RMG units.
7. To ensure compliance of the factories.
8. To encourage the SME enterprises to go for export.
2) To increase import business of NBL has adopt the following measures-
1. To identify good performing importers from the market and allow them facilities.
2. For the 1st half of year 2009, they should increase Import business in diversified items.
3. To give Investment facilities against import items which are likely to be recovered within
3 to 6 months
4. Facilities to be given to the clients having good repayment behavior.
5. To induct client who require Working Capital without any Project Finance.
6. To encourage Import Business through Cash retirement and relax charges in this regard.
7. New facilities /Investment may be allowed to selective clients where new gap will be
created after recovering of Investment given in 2008.
8. To strengthen marketing activities through formation of teams at Branch and Head
Office level to improve business volume in the areas mentioned above.
9. To induct new importer clients from the SME sector clients.
10. To create new importers from SME sector among our existing potential clients.
11. To initiate specific drive especially for import of other items to increase import business.
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Role of Foreign Exchange Department of National Bank Limited in Facilitating Foreign Trade – A Case Study of National Bank Limited, Mohakhali Foreign Exchange Branch
17) Conclusion
No matter whatever the challenges are in the area of Foreign Trade, National Bank is fully
equipped to face any obstacle. Even if NBL had a slightly poor performance regarding the
percentage of contribution to total import of the country in the last year, still it has the
expertise to be on the top of foreign exchange business in the coming years.
As the economy of Bangladesh is swelling and import and export are one of the major
sectors that play important role in the economy, National Bank Limited always have played
its role in making sure that things go smoothly. However, since sky is the limit, the bank is
still evolving every day striving to provide the importers and exporters with the best
possible service. Import and exports are showing positive trends within all of the foreign
trades even after the global challenges that we are facing today. That is why there is no
chance that National Bank could possibly fail in facilitating foreign trade in the future.