Walter (Buddy) Baker, Principal — Global Trade Risk Management Strategies

Walter (Buddy) Baker has over 35 years of experience with letters of credit, credit insurance, and international trade finance.  He heads the Global Trade Solutions Delivery team at Fifth Third Bank and provides  training and expert assistance to parties engaged in international trade through his consultancy, Global Trade Risk Management Strategies.  His clientele includes exporters, importers, bankers, lawyers, and service providers.  His expertise is in export risk mitigation techniques, including letters of credit and various alternatives, in financing international trade, and in the rules and regulations governing international trade. 

Global Trade Risk Management Strategies is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.  The firm's stated objective is to guide clients through the maze of rules and practices around international trade and to educate them to properly employ the tools available in order to navigate the maze on their own. For more information about classes and services, including expert witness work, contact Buddy Baker at +1-847-830-3038 or buddy.baker@gtrisk.com.

Areas of Expertise

• Trade Finance
• Commercial Letters of Credit (Import and Export Letters of Credit)
• Standby Letters of Credit
• Bank Guarantees / Demand Guarantees
• Bankers' Acceptances, Eligible and Ineligible (“Finance Bills”)
• Trade Acceptances
• Documentary Draft Collections (Documents Against Payment, Documents Against Acceptance, Cash Against Documents)
• Export Risks and Risk Mitigation
• Credit Insurance
• Forfaiting
• Cross-Border Factoring
• Export Receivables Financing
• Securitization of Accounts Receivable
• Supply-Chain Finance
• Compliance with US Anti-Boycott Regulations
• Compliance with US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Regulations
• Applicability of USA PATRIOT Act and US Bank Secrecy Act to International Trade Transactions  (Know-Your-Customer, Due Diligence, Customer Information Programs)
• Applicability of Basel I, Basel II, and Basel III to Letters of Credit and Trade Finance
• Incoterms 2010
• Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (“UCP 600”)
• International Standard Banking Practice for Documentary Credits (“ISBP”)
• Uniform Rules for Collections (“URC 722”)
• International Standby Practices (“ISP 98”)
• Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (“URDG 758”)
• Uniform Commercial Code Article 5 — Letters of Credit (“UCC5”)

Training

• Classroom seminars
• On-site training
• Webinars