We provide lender-ready capital raise packaging and debt or equity placement support for business owners and buyers looking to secure serious term sheets and close funding on a defined timeline.
For business owners and acquirers pursuing private debt or equity, submit your deal for review. We revert within one working day with next steps and either a quote for our services.
For pre-submission discussions, we offer paid consultations. To initiate underwriting and lender outreach, submit the deal.
Back-to-back commodity trades can be financed without an established banking relationship. What lenders need is not a long history with your company — it is a complete picture of the transaction: confirmed contracts on both sides, creditworthy counterparties, a clear settlement timeline, and a defined repayment mechanism. Get those elements right and the absence of a banking relationship becomes a structuring challenge, not a dealbreaker.
Who this is for: Trading companies, commodity brokers, and intermediaries who have a confirmed buyer and a confirmed supplier but no existing trade finance facility or bank credit line to fund the purchase leg of the deal.
A back-to-back trade is structurally simple. You have a supplier willing to sell a commodity at price A. You have a buyer willing to purchase that commodity at price B. Your margin is the spread. You sit in the middle, taking title to the goods — or arranging for title to pass through you — and managing both legs of the transaction.
The financing problem arises because you typically need to pay the supplier before or at the point of shipment, while the buyer pays you on delivery or against documents. That gap — between when you owe the supplier and when you collect from the buyer — is what needs to be funded. Without a bank credit line, most traders assume they cannot bridge it. That assumption is often wrong.
Banks are not the only source of trade finance. Non-bank lenders, commodity finance houses, and specialist trade finance funds can all provide the working capital needed to bridge a back-to-back trade. Many of them are specifically set up to serve traders who do not have relationships with the major commodity banks.
The real problem is almost never the absence of a bank. It is the absence of a complete, well-documented transaction package. Lenders of all types — bank and non-bank — make decisions based on the same fundamentals: who is buying, who is selling, what are the goods, how does repayment happen, and what controls are in place. If you can answer those questions with documentation, you have a financeable transaction.
The most common mistake: Approaching a lender with a verbal deal and asking for a term sheet. Lenders cannot underwrite a commodity trade they cannot verify. The application process starts when you have signed contracts, not when you have a handshake.
There are two primary structures used to finance back-to-back commodity trades without a pre-existing bank facility. Which one applies depends on whether your buyer is willing to issue a letter of credit and how much of your own capital you are contributing.
| Structure | How It Works | Best Suited For |
|---|---|---|
| Back-to-Back Letter of Credit | Your buyer issues a master LC in your favour. You use that LC as collateral to open a second LC in favour of your supplier. The supplier ships against the secondary LC. Documents are presented through the chain, and settlement flows back to retire the facility. | Trades where the buyer is willing and able to open an LC, and where the commodity and documentation standards are well defined. Works well for agricultural products, metals, and energy commodities with established inspection protocols. |
| Purchase Order / Contract Finance | A lender advances against your confirmed purchase contract from the buyer, funding the payment to your supplier. Repayment comes from buyer proceeds at settlement. The lender typically takes assignment of the sale contract and controls the payment account. | Trades where the buyer is paying on open account or deferred terms rather than by LC, and where the buyer's creditworthiness can be independently verified. More common in established trading relationships. |
| Inventory / Warehouse Finance | The lender advances against the value of goods held in a third-party controlled warehouse, releasing funds against a collateral management agreement. Finance is retired as goods are released and sold to the buyer. | Trades involving storable commodities where there is a timing gap between purchase and confirmed sale. Common in soft commodities, base metals, and refined products. |
Back-to-back financing requires the lender to understand both legs of the transaction simultaneously. A complete application addresses the purchase side and the sale side with equal rigour.
Signed supply agreement with price, quantity, commodity specification, delivery terms, and payment conditions. Evidence of supplier legitimacy and capability. Inspection arrangements confirming goods meet specification before or at point of shipment.
Signed purchase agreement from your buyer with matching commodity specification, delivery terms, and payment terms. Evidence of buyer creditworthiness — bank references, trade references, or publicly available credit information. If the buyer is issuing an LC, draft LC terms should be included.
Confirmed shipping or logistics arrangements. Marine cargo insurance naming the lender as additional insured or loss payee. Clear incoterms on both contracts, with no ambiguity about when title transfers and who bears risk at each stage.
A defined account structure showing how buyer proceeds flow to repay the facility before releasing the trading margin to you. Lenders need this on paper before they commit. The simpler and more direct the repayment path, the faster the approval process moves.
Because the back-to-back letter of credit is the most commonly used structure for first-time traders without bank relationships, it is worth understanding how the document chain works in practice.
Key point: The financing bank's primary exposure in a back-to-back LC structure is to the issuing bank of the master LC, not to you as the trader. This is why the structure can work even without a banking relationship or credit history — provided the master LC comes from a bank the financing party is willing to accept.
Not all back-to-back trades are equally fundable. The structures above require specific conditions to work, and deals that fall short of those conditions will struggle regardless of who you approach.
The difference between a back-to-back trade that gets financed and one that does not is usually preparation, not the deal itself. These steps consistently improve approval outcomes for traders without established banking relationships.
We work with commodity traders and intermediaries who have confirmed deals on both sides but no existing facility to bridge them. If your contracts are signed and your counterparties are verifiable, we can review your transaction and advise on structuring and lender options.
A back-to-back trade is where you have a confirmed buyer and a confirmed supplier and you sit in the middle as the trading entity. You purchase from the supplier and sell to the buyer, with both legs structured to settle in close sequence. Your margin is the spread between the two prices.
Yes. Non-bank trade finance lenders and specialist commodity financiers can fund back-to-back trades when the deal is structured correctly. The key is presenting complete, verified documentation on both sides of the transaction.
A structure where the LC your buyer has issued in your favour is used as collateral to open a second LC in favour of your supplier. The master LC supports the secondary LC, allowing you to fund the purchase side without committing your own cash upfront.
At minimum: signed purchase and supply contracts, commodity specifications and inspection arrangements, insurance cover, a clear settlement timeline, and KYC documentation for all parties. If an LC is involved, draft LC terms should be included early in the process.
Repayment flows from the buyer's payment upon delivery and acceptance of goods. In a well-structured deal, buyer proceeds are routed through a designated account that services the finance facility first, before releasing the trading margin to you.
Unverifiable counterparties, mismatched contract terms, no inspection provision, margins too thin to absorb financing costs, and a weak LC issuing bank are the most common structural problems. Each one can be fixed before submission if identified early.
Disclaimer: This content is informational and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. Trade finance structures, lender requirements, and counterparty standards vary by transaction, commodity, and jurisdiction. Obtain independent legal and financial review before committing to any transaction or financing arrangement.
Financely advises growth-focused businesses on accessing capital by introducing their opportunities to professional investors. Financely is not a securities broker or dealer. Where appropriate, engagements are coordinated with regulated broker-dealers, investment banks, legal counsel, and other specialists.
Financely does not solicit, offer, or accept orders to buy or sell securities and makes no assurance regarding capital-raising outcomes.
Services are strictly business-to-business. Financely does not provide personal finance, consumer credit, or retail advisory services.
Advisory services are reserved for post-revenue companies that recognize the time and resources required for professional underwriting.
To proceed,
request a quote
and receive indicative commercial terms. If you require guidance before engaging,
book a paid telephone consultation.
Security notice: we are aware of third parties using Financely’s name without authorization. Only emails sent from our official domains and communications through our portal are valid. Please verify any outreach before sharing documents or sending payments, and read our impersonation warning.
Email supportdesk@financely-group.com for general enquiries, press & partnership requests.
All mandates start with an RFQ. We review submissions, issue a brief Go/No-Go memo, and where bankable, release a Term Sheet that leads to funding. We arrange capital across Senior Secured, Unitranche, Second Lien/Mezzanine, Preferred Equity, and Gap Solutions. We do not process deals by email or chat.
Letters of Credit, Standby LCs, Confirmations, Receivables Finance, and Inventory Lines with control.
Funding arranged for trade flows with instruments sized to your cycle and aligned to delivery and settlement.
Move forward to secure working capital and keep goods moving. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting for funding.
Limited or non-recourse structures for energy and infrastructure with lender-ready materials.
Funding solutions aligned to project cash flows with credible covenants and conditions to reach notice to proceed.
Advance the file to termable status. Submit the RFQ so we can underwrite and secure funding.
Debt and Preferred solutions anchored on cash flow, Quality of Earnings, and clear closing mechanics.
Funding across senior, unitranche, and preferred to match stable cash flows and acquisition timelines.
Get financed on workable terms for closing. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting.
Acquisition, development, bridge, and refinance with lender-ready packs and third-party reports managed.
Funding calibrated to DSCR, leverage, and tenancy with terms designed to close.
Move to a financeable package. Submit the RFQ to initiate underwriting for funding.
KYC and Source of Funds required. Engagements are best-efforts and subject to underwriting. Preference for operating companies with meaningful revenue. See our FAQ and Procedure.
Financely Inc. (“Financely”) provides corporate-finance advice and is wholly owned by Aurora Bay Trust, a trust formed under Bahamian law, together with its authorized affiliates. Depending on deal structure, jurisdiction, and local rules, engagements may be carried out through Financely Group LLC, a non-deposit-taking, non-banking financial company; Ashford Capital Advisory LLC; or another related entity.
Financely and its affiliates are not registered as securities broker-dealers and do not execute securities transactions or hold client funds or securities. When a mandate involves the purchase or sale of securities and a registered intermediary is required, any orders are introduced to and executed by one or more independent U.S. broker-dealers registered with the SEC and FINRA. Those broker-dealers are solely responsible for trade execution, custody, and related regulatory obligations. Nothing in this material constitutes an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any security or to engage in any specific transaction. Before engaging Financely Group LLC, Ashford Capital Advisory LLC, or any affiliate, you are responsible for confirming that such engagement complies with your own legal, regulatory, tax, and other requirements. In the United States, certain advisory activities may be conducted in reliance on exemptions available under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, including the “foreign private adviser” exemption where applicable. Our services and regulatory status may vary by jurisdiction and by transaction type.
Click
here to download our brochure. Email
supportdesk@financely-group.com for general enquiries.
