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.
Trade Finance | Letters of Credit | Import Export
A bank refusing to issue a Letter of Credit is not a personal rejection. It is a risk decision. The useful response is to get the real reason, fix the file, and pivot to an alternative that still protects the supplier.
This guide gives you common refusal reasons, a practical checklist, and the fastest path back to an issuable structure.
Banks decline LCs for a short list of recurring reasons. If you can identify which bucket you are in, you can usually fix it fast.
Do not accept vague feedback like “risk policy” and then guess. Ask for a written explanation that you can act on. You are trying to isolate the constraint: credit, collateral, compliance, corridor, documentation, or bank capacity.
Ask your relationship manager for:
Once you have the constraint, you choose the remedy. The table below maps the common decline reasons to fixes.
| Bank says no because | What it usually means | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Insufficient credit limit | Your trade line is too small or not set up for LCs. | Request a formal limit review with a clean package, or move to a bank that issues trade instruments for your size and profile. |
| 100% cash margin required | The bank is treating you as unsecured and wants full protection. | Raise bridge capital for margin, secure a revolving facility against receivables or inventory, or select an issuer with lower margin based on risk and controls. |
| Weak financials | Liquidity and coverage are not meeting internal metrics. | Improve disclosures, show cash conversion cycle logic, add collateral, bring in equity or first loss support, and right size the LC and tenor. |
| Jurisdiction or corridor block | Internal policy or correspondent constraints restrict the route. | Use a different bank group with corridor capacity, adjust routing, confirmability, or payment mechanics, or use an alternative instrument. |
| Counterparty fails checks | Supplier or buyer looks too risky, or is hard to verify. | Provide stronger KYB evidence, trade history, inspection controls, or change counterparties if verification is weak. |
| LC wording unacceptable | Terms create discrepancy risk or cannot be operated cleanly. | Rewrite the draft LC to standard UCP practice and align it to the contract and documentary flow. |
| Trade is not verifiable | The bank cannot underwrite the underlying transaction. | Build a lender grade file: contracts, pro forma, logistics plan, inspection, insurance, and cash controls. |
If the bank will not issue, you still have options. The right one depends on what your supplier is trying to protect: non payment risk, performance risk, or documentary control risk.
Relevant pages: Letter of Credit Services , Standby Letter of Credit Services , Documentary Letter of Credit Provider , Documentary Collections.
A refusal often means you need a stronger control map, not a stronger pitch.
If you resubmit with the same gaps, you get the same answer. Use this checklist to rebuild the file.
LC issuance checklist
| Time | Action | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Get written decline reason and the exact missing requirements. Collect contract, LC draft, and transaction summary in one file. | Clear constraint and resubmission path. |
| Day 2 | Fix the LC draft and documentary list. Build the trade file: logistics, inspection, insurance, KYB, and funding plan. | Bankable submission pack. |
| Day 3 | Parallel path: identify alternative issuers and alternative instruments in case your bank remains blocked. | Multiple executable options for supplier assurance. |
Financely helps companies get to a yes by fixing the file and matching the transaction to the right issuing bank. We also support alternatives when an LC is not the best fit for the trade. Financely is not a bank and does not lend.
If your bank refused, do not burn time with vague back and forth. Submit the transaction details and we will revert with a practical plan: fix the file, select the right issuer, or pivot to an equivalent instrument that your supplier will accept.
This page is for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, investment, or regulatory advice. Financely is not a bank and does not lend. Any issuance, routing, or financing support is subject to diligence, KYB, KYC, AML, sanctions screening, bank criteria, and definitive documentation.
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.
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request a quote
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book a paid telephone consultation.
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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.
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