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How Wintrust International Services support business growth around the world
How Wintrust International Services support business growth around the world
Without strategy or guidance, expanding your business into international markets can leave your company fraught with unmitigated risk. Not only is identifying the markets where you are best poised for success challenging, but supply chains are fragile, currency markets are constantly fluctuating, and tariffs continue to create uncertainty.
While international growth is risky and complex, it offers the potential to access entirely new markets and achieve large returns. Whether the expansion is upstream or downstream in your supply chain, there is undoubtedly growth potential at stake. However, to realize this potential, companies must do their research.
“Even the first step — identifying a market where a company could be successful — requires a thorough and clear understanding of all potential risks, as well as mitigation strategies, before any sale is attempted,” says Tom Beube, Senior Vice President and Head of International Banking at Wintrust Bank. Mapping this out is no simple task, but it’s a task that can be made much easier with a trusted banking partner with a strong trade finance and foreign exchange team.
Once a company has identified the most suitable market to work within or expand to, having that trusted banking partner is essential to help navigate potential pitfalls. According to Beube, risk-mitigation tools and services like those Wintrust provides — such as letters of credit, foreign currency hedging strategies and trade finance — not only deliver peace of mind for businesses but can often determine whether a transaction can be successfully completed.
“There have been more instances than I can count where Wintrust has stepped in and helped mitigate risk on a deal, allowing our clients to complete their export sale or bridge the working capital challenges with a foreign supplier. We do this by leveraging our trade and supply chain financing payments tools and foreign exchange services,” Beube explains.
Case studies from across the globe
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
One of Beube’s clients had the opportunity to expand their business abroad and sell a product in the UAE. The company was the beneficiary of a letter of credit from a bank in the UAE with deferred payment terms of 90 days. This presented working capital and foreign bank and country risk issues for the U.S. company. Without faster payment, their working capital was significantly constrained, and they were unable to complete subsequent orders. That’s when they turned to Wintrust. Beube recalls exploring every financing option with the client to ensure that when Wintrust took on the risk of the deferred payment from the UAE bank, the business would be well-positioned to continue operations, complete its orders and achieve long-term success.
Germany
Another business, operating in Germany, was having its U.S. dollar payments converted to euros by a European bank while their domestic operations partnered with Wintrust for financing. Upon learning they were accepting less-than-favorable exchange rates from the European bank, Wintrust’s team worked with the company to provide an exchange rate that allowed the business to realize significant savings on these payments to its operations abroad.
“Ultimately, that’s what I believe separates us from larger national banks and non-bank competitors,” says Beube. “We spend the time to help clients navigate every pitfall they may encounter and provide in-depth advisory services.”
Wintrust’s international banking team has a deep understanding of global markets, helping partners streamline operations and reduce risks. Coupled with Wintrust’s advanced technologies that provide a secure, efficient banking experience, their personalized advisory services empower businesses to navigate the complexities of international trade with confidence, driving growth and long-term success.
Whether your business is experiencing supply chain financing difficulties, searching for a more favorable exchange rate for a project or simply looking to understand the risks of global expansion, Wintrust is committed to advising and servicing businesses of all types, with no project being too small.
Start a conversation with the Wintrust International Services team today.
