Tips on Using Letters of Credit

International letters of credit play an integral part in facilitating foreign trade while providing a secure and reliable means of payment. In simple terms, a letter of credit is a financial guarantee of payment separate from the sales or other contracts on which it is based. It is a way of reducing the payment risks associated with the movement of goods across borders.

When PMF Bancorp provides trade financing, letters of credit come with the territory. With the letters of credit, we also make sure your clients are reliable and creditworthy. Naturally, letters of credit and credit checks go hand-in-hand. The goal is to provide the financing you need to complete the deal and help your business.

The need for a letter of credit is a consideration in the course of negotiations between the buyer and seller. When the seller has doubts about the credit-worthiness of the buyer and wishes to ensure prompt payment, a letter of credit allows the deal to happen. If the seller is shipping to a foreign country, a letter of credit issued by a financing institution can ensure the safety of the goods and the completion of the exchange.

Letters of credit open doors to international trade by providing a secure mechanism for payment. Financing opportunities, such as pre-shipment finance secured by a letter of credit and/or discounting of accepted drafts drawn under letters of credit, are often available. The expertise of a company like PMF Bancorp with extensive international expertise and experience in financing global trade makes this type of transaction simple for the typical business owner.

If you are moving forward with an international trade deal, PMF Bancorp has many years of experience in issuing letters of credit for businesses to securely finance their trade needs. By obtaining international letters of credit and doing a background check on your trade partner, PMF helps to ensure both the deal and the accounts receivable financing needs as well. With an international letter of credit, what appeared at first to be a risky venture can turn out to be a profitable expansion for your company.

US Jobs & Unemployment figures a Sham...Where are the jobs?

It’s funny how the media only shows you one face of the coin when their our political motivations involved...here is part of 'the Sham': July '2012 Job's Report was up 163,000 according to the Labor Department from the Obama administration; however, the Household Survey reported 150,000 people dropped out of the job market?!  According to Ellen Zenter, Senior US Economist at Nomura, "This (latest jobs report) showing the economy expanded at a greater pace in July than in June, but households are still telling us they're in pain."

The 'Sham' is much worse than this, one can see our youth under-employed in many areas of the economy so our government reported 8.3% Unemployment figure is probably more like 12% if the under-employed, job market quitters, and structurally unemployed were added to the actual reported unemployment figures.  I was eating dinner at a diner called "Norms" just last night in Southern California and overheard to youths strategizing on getting a waiter position at the restaurant...it sounded from their conversation like we were in the 'great depression' (which just might be...we are just in denial still based on fundamentals).  Not that I am really pro Romney, but over the last four years Obama should have been busy creating sustainable jobs (not road jobs) to improve our infrastructure such as our failing electrical grid and aging aqueduct systems which could have led to a whole new generation of engineers and jobs for our economy....  Creating jobs take experience and work, ChinaMart USA is a platform that been attracting investment to the US and creating US jobs for years.  I explain more in my book, "Book: Dancing with the Dragon" on working with China to help our economy if this is an interest to any of my readers.

Stephen Perl, CEO of 1st PMF Bancorp, a leading U.S. commercial lender specializing in providing loans to business for working capital and trade finance.

Xi Jinping's China Is A Trade Partner, Not A Trade Enemy

Los Angeles, CA—With the visit of China's vice president Xi Jinping to the United States and his meeting with President Obama, there is renewed hope for calming American fears regarding the Chinese superpower, according to one Asian business expert.

"If we can cut through the anti-China rhetoric, most American would see that the Chinese want to be our friends and business partners," says http://www.doingbusinesswithchina.net [Stephen Perl, author __title__ stephen perl book author china] of "Dancing with the Dragon: the Secrets for Doing Business with China.” "The Chinese are huge admirers of America...and increased trade and investment between our two countries brings business profits for both, and especially jobs to the US as as my book alludes to if the US could just take a moment to understand their culture and concentrate on building relations," continues Mr. Perl.

US exports to China grew faster than any other country in last several years and are only continuing to accelerate with almost 10% of all US exports going to China now, according to Mr. Perl who is also the CEO of http://www.pmfbancorp.com [1st PMF Bancorp __title__ pmf bancorp factoring], a leading U.S. commercial bank lender and the CEO of http://www.chinamartusa.com [ChinaMart Los Angeles __title__ sell to usa, export to usa], a platform that assists Chinese Companies to invest in and open US companies

Yesterday, Mr. Perl's PMF Bancorp was a host and key sponsor of China's Vice President Xi Jinping's Business Delegation to ChinaMart Los Angeles at LAX . The event provided a morning business mixer to meet many Chinese factories in the general merchandise area and to introduce the Canton Fair's trading division and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import/Export of Light Industrial Products & Arts-Crafts (aka "CCCLA" or "QQ"), the largest Chamber of General Merchandise in China with over 100,000 active members to encourage Trade between the US and China. "The CCCLA's main initiative this year is to focus on encouraging US exports to China and supporting US companies to exhibit in China," states Mr. Wang, the Chairman of the CCCLA.

Mr. Perl believes that there are two major issues in the media that need to be addresses quickly in order to help rectify the public perception between the US and China:

1. DEBT: Many American believe China owns most of US debt. The truth is that the Chinese own less than eight percent of the nearly $15 trillion American debt (Japan owns seven percent and England owns three percent). The majority of American debt is actually held by the US federal government (40%) and local and state governments (5%), with American taxpayers and companies (21%), and other foreign governments (17%) making up the rest.

2. IMPORTS: Many Americans believe that most of their paycheck goes to buying goods and services originating in China. But according to reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve the actual number is less than three percent (2.7% worth of imports measured against America's $14.5 trillion economy). In fact, nearly 86% of American consumer spending is on home-grown, made-in-the-USA products.

According to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), exports to China neared one hundred billion dollars last year, an increase of nearly a third over the previous year.

US exports to China grew faster than any other country in last several years and are only continuing to accelerate with almost 10% of all US exports going to China now.

Mr. Perl is not alone in his positive attitude toward the Chinese. Erin Burnett, now the CNN anchor of "Outfront," pointed out as far back as 2007 that "China is our greatest friend right now.They're keeping prices low, and they're keeping prices for mortgages low too." She made the comment on "Hardball" when she was an anchor of CNBC's "Street Signs."

Stephen Perl's book, "http://www.doingbusinesswithchina.net [Doing Business with China: The Secrets of Dancing with the Dragon __title__ stephen perl book china business mart]" is a how-to that can help struggling American businesses and government policy makers better understand the Chinese culture and to do business with China in the future.

About the Author
Stephen Perl is the CEO of 1st PMF Bancorp (www.PMFbancorp.com), a leading US commercial bank lender, and the founder and CEO of ChinaMart Los Angeles (www.ChinaMartUSA.com), the first non-government platform that assists and supports Chinese with investing in the US and with US trade. Located at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), ChinaMart is the largest physical showroom and investment platform of its kind in the US. Mr. Perl actively serves on the County of Los Angeles Board of Governors and the City of Los Angeles Economic Advisory Board. Additionally he is a director on the board of the Commercial Finance Association, the largest commercial lender’s association in the US, and a certified United States Export-Import Bank loan officer.