The Bolero multi-bank service enables the automation of the end-to-end lifecycle of the Letter of Credit and Guarantee instruments for both Importers and Exporters. Corporates and their banks are increasingly adopting it as the standard channel for multi-bank trade finance.

"For some years HVB have been at the forefront of offering multi-banking trade finance solutions to its corporate customers." said Arthur Vonchek, Chief Executive Officer at Bolero. "HVB's decision to upgrade their agreement with Bolero is a logical consequence of their commitment to support clear customer need for automation, visibility and increased efficiencies as well as the benefits to the bank in having a robust electronic multi-bank communications channel."

"At HVB and throughout the Unicredit Group, we are very focused on providing excellent service to our corporate customers" said Markus Wohlgeschaffen, Head of Trade Finance & Services Unicredit Group. "It is because of this that we recognized very early the need to provide robust multi-banking support to our clients on a global basis. Clearly Bolero is emerging as an important platform in the Trade Finance space and we welcome the opportunity to work more closely with this channel and the Bolero organization"

Under this new agreement HVB will be providing Bolero multi-bank support to a number of known clients who are in the process of rolling out a Bolero based multi-bank solution either for Letters of Credit, for Guarantees or for both. HVB will also be working more closely with Bolero in support of future customers as well as in providing valuable input to Bolero's market direction.

Bolero provides a unique electronic multi-banking channel solution for corporate customers, while at the same time providing a single multi-corporate electronic channel for each bank. Thereby it prevents both communities from needing to support multiple bank and/or corporate specific processes, interfaces and data forormats.

"We have partnered with HVB for some time as they have developed their strategy to support the multi-banking requirements of their corporate customers." said Claire Buchanan, SVP, Global Field Operations at Bolero. "We are delighted with HVB's decision which will provide the basis for closer cooperation in the future in support of a growing number of mutual clients."

Separately, Fortis is to fully integrate Bolero - a multi-banking trade platform -into its back office systems in order to create greater speed and efficiency, while minimising risks on the bank's side. As a result Bolero will be made available through all Fortis ECT Commodities branches making it a truly global solution for Fortis clients.

"Fortis ECT Commodities has a well-established policy of following clients' needs and wishes related to bank and client connectivity, especially in the Trade Finance day to day Letter of Credit, guarantee and collection business" says Eppo Heemstra, Managing Director Business Support & Development of Commodities, within Energy, Commodities & Transportation at Fortis. "Our commodities clients typically have multiple bank relationships, so forcing a proprietary bank solution on such customers does not make sense. Deploying a proven multi-bank solution instead provides our clients with a complete overview of all their transactions with all their banks for L/C, Guarantees, Collections and Receivables, increasing efficiency."

Fortis ECT Commodities recently entered into a new agreement with Bolero which allows the bank to deploy the platform on an unlimited global basis. This built on the previous experience Fortis gained from partnering with a number of large global clients already live on the Bolero multi-bank platform.

The Bolero multi-bank service enables the automation of the end-to-end lifecycle of the Letter of Credit and Guarantee instruments for both Importers and Exporters. Corporates and their banks are increasingly adopting it as the standard channel for multi-bank trade finance.

Bolero provides a unique electronic multi-banking channel solution for corporate customers, while at the same time providing a single multi-corporate electronic channel for each bank. Thereby it prevents both communities from needing to support multiple bank and/or corporate specific processes, interfaces and data formats.

"It is interesting to see the speed of change in the market reflected by Fortis' decision to deploy the Bolero channel globally." said Claire Buchanan, SVP, Global Field Operations at Bolero. "As both corporate customers and banks in global trade finance sector realise the substantial benefits to be gained by both communities, we see ever faster convergence with Bolero as the dominant multi-bank platform. Fortis is a top tier bank for the provision of Trade Finance for commodities clients and this most recent decision clearly positions them as a leader in driving value for these clients."

"Recently, as the market need has increased, a number of so-called multi-bank solutions have come to market." says Eppo Heemstra. "Fortis ECT Commodities decision to deploy Bolero globally recognises Bolero's reputation as a very robust and trustworthy channel and the proven solution in this space. There is also an increasing number of our clients requesting us to support them on this platform".

Fortis ECT- Commodities will deploy Bolero as its multi-bank channel for Trade Finance but it will also be available for clients with a bi-lateral relationship. The Bolero solution will be deployed in stages starting with Import/Export Letters of Credit followed by Guarantees and later on Collections.