| S.W.I.F.T |
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| Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications. A secure, codified electronic method of communication between banks which subscribe to its system. Widely used between banks to confirm payment details, among other things. |
| SAIBATSU |
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| A term used to describe the large Japanese conglomerates which are made up of industrial companies, trading houses and financial institutions. |
| SECONDARY MARKET |
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| Dealing in securities such as bonds or forfaited paper which have already been issued into their Primary market. |
| SECURITISATION |
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| The process of transforming financial obligations into tradable securities such as shares or bonds. Bonds backed by mortgages or credit card receivables are well-known examples. |
| SFA |
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| Securities and Futures Authority now part of the FSA. |
| SHIPPED ON DECK |
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| When cargo is shipped on the deck of a vessel rather than in the hold, i.e. exposed to the elements. This is may appear as a Clausing on a Bill of Lading. |
| SIGHT DRAFT |
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| A Bill of Exchange payable immediately as opposed to a Usance bill. |
| SILENT CONFIRMATION OF LETTERS OF CREDIT |
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| A bank or other party which it is not a party to an L/C confirms to the Beneficiary of that L/C that it will pay if conforming documents are presented to the bank issuing the L/C. The Issuing Bank will not be aware of this arrangement. SMEs Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. |
| SLC |
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| see STANDBY LETTER OF CREDIT |
| SOFT COMMODITY |
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| While there is no formal definition of this term it is widely taken to mean coffee, cocoa, sugar and cotton but not agricultural commodities such as wheat and potatoes, and not industrial commodities, chemicals and metals. |
| SOVEREIGN BORROWER / GUARANTOR |
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| Government borrower or guarantor. |
| SOVEREIGN RISK |
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| See Country Risk |
| SPREAD |
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| Risk margin as applied of loans and discounts. |
| SRO |
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| Self-Regulating Organisation e.g. IMRO, SFA, PIA etc. |
| SSAP |
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| Statements of Standard Accounting Practice. |
| STALE BILL OF LADING |
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| A bill of lading which has been presented under a Letter of Credit but is older than 21 days since its date of issue. |
| STANDBY LETTER OF CREDIT |
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| A Letter of Credit, similar to an on-demand guarantee, under which drawings are contingent upon a particular event or set of circumstances occurring or failing to occur. |
| STIR |
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| Short-Term Interest Rate. |
| STRAIGHT DISCOUNT |
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| A method of calculating a discount commonly used in Forfaiting. The result of a straight discount is expressed as percentage of the discounted Face Value of future cashflows. |
| SUBPARTICIPATION AGREEMENT |
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| An agreement by which banks may sell to other banks pieces or "participations" in loans that they make to borrowers. Under a "silent subparticipation agreement" other parties to the main agreement such as the borrower or other members of a lending Syndicate will be unaware of the existence of the subparticipation arrangements. |
| SWITCH TRADING |
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| Using outstanding credit balances in bi-lateral trading accounts between two countries to finance imports from third parties |
| SYNDICATION |
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| A loan made by a group or "syndicate" of banks. |
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