Mr. Old Man For those who eat, sleep and breathe Letters of Credit & Cycling

Intro In LC practice, the term “cable negotiation” is sometimes mentioned by beneficiaries and banks, even though it does not appear in UCP 600. This Q&A clarifies what “cable negotiation” means in practice, how it works, and the benefits and risks involved for each party when discrepant documents are presented. QUESTION Dear Mr. Old Man, My name is HY. I …

Tối nay lúc 10:30 sẽ diễn ra trận bán kết AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 giữa Việt Nam và Trung Quốc. Giờ này thì xem bóng đá khá thoải mái, vì thú thật là ngày thường Mr. Old Man cũng… lên giường rất trễ. Nhưng giống ba trận trước, Mr. Old Man vẫn trung thành với “chiến thuật mê tín”: …

Intro  Letters of Credit sometimes contain additional conditions that blur the line between presentation by the beneficiary and document handling between banks. When such clauses are poorly drafted, the question inevitably arises: can an issuing bank turn an internal routing instruction into a discrepancy? The following Q&A addresses one such situation involving Fields 47A and 48. QUESTION Dear Sir, LC …

Intro In document examination under letters of credit, banks often face situations where the problem is not what is missing, but what does not match. One such recurring issue is a difference between the amount in words and the amount in figures shown on a commercial invoice or a bill of exchange. At first glance, this may look like a …

A Korean friend of mine — a senior legal expert at a major bank — recently sent me a long email, sharing all sorts of life stories. But in the end, everything came down to one simple point: his contract has just been extended for another year. What happens after that is uncertain, because he has already turned 66 — …

Anh bạn người Hàn Quốc – chuyên gia pháp lý cao cấp tại một ngân hàng lớn – mới gửi cho Mr. Old Man một email dài, tâm sự đủ chuyện. Nhưng tựu trung lại chỉ xoay quanh một việc: anh vừa được ngân hàng gia hạn hợp đồng thêm một năm, còn năm sau thì chưa chắc, vì anh …

INTRO In practice, bank guarantees are often treated as if they must be issued or advised through a local bank in the beneficiary’s country. This assumption frequently leads to confusion between legal possibility and market or tender requirements, especially when physical bank guarantees are involved. The following question raises a simple but important issue: Can a bank issue a physical …

Lướt Facebook dạo này, thỉnh thoảng Mr. Old Man lại thấy nhiều bạn trung niên chia sẻ hình ảnh một ngôi nhà gỗ xinh xinh trên đồi, lối đi hai bên là hàng hồng nở rộ. Hoặc một khu vườn ngập nắng, gọn gàng, có rau, có hoa, có ao cá, có… đủ thứ nhìn rất  đáng ước mơ. Không …

Intro  Time calculations under Letters of Credit often look simple, yet the word “within” continues to cause confusion — especially when readers focus on the example given in ISBP 821 paragraph A14(b)(i) and wonder whether the permitted period should extend both before and after the shipment date.  The following Q&A addresses a very practical question: When an LC requires documents …

Intro From time to time, beneficiaries find themselves facing draft Letters of Credit containing conditions that appear unnecessary, impractical, or even deliberately risky. Are these merely poor drafting practices, or are they “discrepancy traps” waiting to happen?  In the following exchange, Mr. Old Man shares his views on how sellers should respond when confronted with such LCs — and why …