bankers' acceptances for importers

A Low Cost Alternative to Loans

A banker's acceptance is a variation of a certified check, payable at a future maturity date. The accepting bank promises to pay the holder and the bank customer promises to reimburse the bank on the date specified in the acceptance. For example, in order to finance a purchase of goods, an importer may arrange for Fifth Third Bank to create an acceptance that the importer sells, at a discount, to an investor in order to generate funds to pay a foreign supplier. At maturity Fifth Third Bank pays the investor, and the importer pays the amount of the acceptance to the bank.

Your solution could be short-term financing

Are you an importer that needs to finance a purchase? Fifth Third Bank can assist you with short-term financing. Our bankers' acceptance service is scalable, requires minimal setup, and can be used to finance transactions involving:

• Letters of credit
• Documentary draft collections
• Open account purchases

Increase your purchasing confidence with our import letters of credit

With a commercial letter of credit, you, as the buyer, are obligated to pay only when the supplier presents the documents specified in the import letter of credit we issue for you. You are effectively minimizing your risk of paying for goods that don’t comply with your purchase orders. This can give you additional purchasing power in markets where you have not yet established credit and provide your suppliers with a means of obtaining low-cost financing to produce and ship the goods you have ordered. Import letters of credit can be used in conjunction with bankers’ acceptances to provide financing after the goods have been shipped.