When negotiating an export contract, payment conditions play an important part in the eye of the buyer. Even if you rightly prefer a cash payment or a payment by letter of credit, the buyer may insist on receiving deferred payment terms, especially for major deals involving capital goods.

Offering medium term financing to your buyer might then facilitate the conclusion of the contract.

Fortis Bank offers you several possibilities to grant your buyer such deferred payment terms : they range from international bank guarantees to framework agreements through buyer credit and forfaiting formulas. You can rely on our long-standing expertise in medium and long-term export and project financing to help you bring large-scale deals to a satisfactory conclusion.

Buyer credit involves credits granted directly to the foreign buyer by the exporter's bank. The exporter and the buyer sign a commercial contract which specifies that payment is to be made in cash. In addition, there is a financial contract, whereby we grant the buyer a credit facility so that he can pay you in cash.

The buyer credit takes the form of bills issued to our order and signed by your buyer only.  This technique saves you the trouble of negotiating terms of credit and managing a large proportion of the risks.

Forfaiting is a form of credit in which the bank takes over the deferred payment facilities you have granted to your foreign buyer without further recourse against you.  This occurs through the discounting of drafts signed to your order by your client.

Cross-border leasing can be an advantageous alternative for the foreign buyer concerned with financial, tax, accounting or legal considerations.  In this case, we buy the goods in accordance with the importer's instructions and terms. We then conclude a leasing contract with him, which specifies the lease period, the price and the terms of payment. 

The framework agreement is a type of credit that is subject to a general agreement between Fortis Bank and a local bank or an overseas buyer.  It fixes in advance the financing conditions applied to the various contracts for supplying capital goods and services which might be signed by exporters in receipt of orders within the framework of this agreement. This kind of agreement saves you the trouble of negotiating the financial side of your export contracts.

You should check the list of standing framework agreements before prospecting foreign markets. They could indeed provide you with the leverage you need to secure export contracts for your products.

These are only a few examples of the possibilities that are available in the field of export financing. According to your specific needs, we develop tailor-made solutions.

Please note that :

- setting up such tailor-made financing can be time consuming (several months up to more than 1 year);
- it can only be realised if it relates to the sale of capital goods (or services with a long term impact such as e.g. dredging works);
- it will involve expenses which make it less attractive for smaller amounts.

Depending on the formula, the minimum amount for this type of arrangements is 3 to 4 million euros. We thus recommend to check with your Fortis Bank Relationship Manager whether a deal can be financed before offering deferred payment terms to your buyer.