Bond Support Scheme

Our Bond Support Scheme provides partial guarantees to banks in support of UK exports to help banks meet demand for contract bonds.

When an exporter wins an export contract, they may be required to provide a contract bond. One solution could be for the exporter’s bank to issue the required bonds to the overseas customer on the exporter’s behalf.

However, in order to provide this bond, the bank is likely to require collateral (in the form of a cash deposit) to secure the bond, which could put pressure on the exporter’s working capital or cash flow. We can provide a guarantee of up to 80% of the value of the bond. This allows banks to release the cash needed to secure the bond for the exporter to use as working capital.

There is no maximum value for each bond and no maximum or minimum term for a guarantee.

How it works

Bond Support Scheme

Benefits

Under the scheme banks:

• can issue a bond (or indemnify the issue of) a bond without incurring the full risk
• may increase the amount of working capital available to the exporter by relieving pressure on the exporter due to the requirement to provide cash deposits as collateral to secure the bond
• receive a guarantee from UKEF to cover the percentage of the amount due to it if the exporter fails to reimburse the bank following a call being made on the bond by the buyer
• may, for the duration of our guarantee, be able to increase its risk appetite for the exporter

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for support under our Bond Support Scheme, the transaction must satisfy UKEF’s eligibility criteria, which includes the requirements that:

• the exporter must be carrying on business in the UK
• the exporter must have entered, or be intending to enter, into a contract for the supply of goods and/or services with a company or other organisation that carries on business outside the UK

All transactions supported by UKEF must satisfy:

• our foreign content policy
• our anti-bribery and corruption and environmental, social and human rights due diligence processes

The transaction may not be supported if there are sanctions imposed on the country of the overseas customer.

How to apply

To access Bond Support, exporters should discuss their potential application with their bank.

Contact details for approved lenders

Access our Bond Support Scheme directly through your bank

You do not need to complete the forms on this page if you bank with:

• Barclays Bank Plc
• HSBC UK Bank Plc
• Lloyds Banking Group/Bank of Scotland Plc
• The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc/National Westminster Bank Plc/Ulster Bank
• Santander UK Plc

Contact your bank for further guidance.

Application forms

For those lenders who have not signed up to access UKEF support, the following forms should be used to access our support

• a single export contract: standalone guarantee application form (PDF, 1.2 MB)
• a contract for a direct supplier to an exporter: UK supplier standalone guarantee application form (PDF, 417 KB)
• our exporter questionnaire (PDF, 737 KB)

More information

• Read our guide for applicants on business processes and factors, to find out how we make decisions on applications
• Read our position on Financial Crime Compliance