The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been approved to issue letters of credit (LCs) for trading on DME, a leading energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, directly from Singapore.

RBS will be able to issue LCs directly from Singapore to guarantee deliveries of Oman Blend crude oil through the DME, helping to create a more efficient and cost-effective trading ecosystem around the exchange, said a statement.  

All DME letters of credit had to be issued via an entity in the US previously, it said.

Christopher Fix, chief executive of DME, said: “This announcement highlights our commitment to providing our participants with the best possible trading environment. Asia has played an extremely significant role in DME’s recent sustained growth.

“Our customers in Asia have requested us to facilitate the financing of their crude oil deliveries and we have responded with this initiative to facilitate LCs directly from banks based in Singapore. We are delighted to see RBS accepted under this scheme and we hope that our mutual customers in Asia will take advantage of this new financing opportunity.”

Adrian Ong, head of Transaction Services, Singapore at RBS, said: “We are delighted to participate in this new initiative because our clients will benefit from the direct issuance of LCs from Singapore.”  - TradeArabia News Service