Supplier Finance: The New Market Realities

摘要

Anurag Chaudhary, managing director of trade risk distribution at Citi, looks at how supplier finance programmes can aid both Buyers and Suppliers and considers what changes are needed to reflect the new corporate and bank landscape. In a traditional commercial terms negotiation, Buyers and Suppliers have conflicting objectives: Buyers want to pay as late as possible while Suppliers want to collect their money at the earliest. Supply chain finance programmes ease this tension by separating the payment date from the collection date. Suppliers can get their money early (reducing their days sales outstanding) as a bank provides financing for the period from the payment date to the collection date. The cost of financing is usually borne by the Supplier. However, the superior credit rating of the Buyer ensures that the cost of funds is lower than is available to the Supplier under normal circumstances.