Home / Our Approach
Credit approval is the beginning of the work, not the end of it. Utilisation, custody, inspection and collection are governed transaction by transaction, and reported to the funding partner.
01 / Operating Model
Custodial holds on diamond parcels, receivables pledges, tank and warehouse receipts, marine insurance, independent inspection and internationally enforceable contracts are standard, not exceptional.
The distinction matters. A security package that exists on paper but cannot be perfected, located or enforced is not security. Our documentation standard is built around the question a recovery officer would ask in the worst month of the facility, not the question a borrower asks in the best one.
02 / Transaction Lifecycle
Each gate has a defined owner, a defined output and a defined right to stop the transaction.
Trade summary, counterparty identity, commodity, corridor and indicative economics. Transactions that cannot survive a first pass on spread or settlement route are declined here, not three weeks later.
Licence verification, beneficial ownership, sanctions and politically exposed person screening, trade record and bank references. Applied to both the borrower and the offtaker.
Transaction level underwriting: confirmed supply, confirmed offtake, priced spread net of freight, finance and insurance cost, and stress testing against adverse price and delay scenarios.
Facility structure, tenor, pricing, repayment mechanics and the full security package agreed and documented. Governing law and dispute forum selected for enforceability, commonly English law for cross border trades.
Insurance evidenced, custody in place, inspection appointed, accounts opened and controlled, security registered where registration is available. No condition is waived informally.
Funds released against the defined transaction and against documents, not into a general operating account. Utilisation is matched to the trade it was approved for.
Proceeds routed through controlled accounts. Position, collateral status and arrears reported to the funding partner on an agreed cycle, through to final settlement and release of security.
03 / Risk Register
The register below is maintained at portfolio level and reviewed each cycle. Residual ratings are the House assessment and are subject to independent review by a funding partner.
| Risk | Impact | Likelihood | Mitigation | Residual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price volatility Platts linked exposure |
Revenue fluctuation | Medium | Short cycle trades and hedging where the instrument is available and economic | Low |
| Shipping disruption Corridor and freight risk |
Delayed trades | Medium | Collateralised contracts, marine insurance, alternate routing assessed at structuring | Low |
| Counterparty default | Loss of capital | Low | Receivables pledged, strict know your customer standards, offtaker screened alongside borrower | Low |
| VAT policy change Diamond vertical |
Margin erosion | Low | Finance extended only to dealers holding valid VAT exemption certification | Low |
| Regulatory tightening | Higher compliance costs | Medium | Active engagement with the regulator and compliance capability resourced ahead of growth | Low |
| Concentration Single name or corridor |
Correlated loss | Medium | Exposure limits by counterparty, commodity and corridor, set at facility approval | Monitored |
Residual ratings reflect the House position as presented in the corporate profile. A funding partner should form its own view following due diligence.
04 / Compliance
Wholesale funders do not price a borrower's compliance function as a cost line. They price it as a determinant of whether the facility can exist at all. We treat it the same way.
Underwriting criteria, exposure limits, security templates and the reporting pack are released to qualified counterparties as part of the data room.