Introduction to Letters of Credit - 7 July 2011
ICM London branch enjoyed an entertaining and informative presentation on Letters of Credit from John Turnbull, General Manager and Head of Structured Trade Finance, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Ltd.
The presentation, attended by over 30 London branch members, offered a guide to the benefits and pitfalls of this often overlooked option for securing debts from overseas trade and was followed by a lively Q&A session.
The meeting was hosted by Michael Wykes of Smith & Williamson who kindly provided food and refreshments for all the guests.
Was the Vegee Haggis a Fraud?
On the 252nd Anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns the London branch celebrated his birthday on the 25th January, 2011 at the offices of Smith & Williamson in the City of London. Members and guests on arrival were greeted with liquid refreshments and nibbles as a warm welcome to the very first branch event of the year.
Our branch Chairman Michael Wykes thanked everyone for their attendance and welcomed our guest speaker Kate Beddington-Brown, Head of Communications at CIFAS whose talk was entitled “CIFAS & Fraud”. Kate started her presentation by explaining the history of CIFAS and its important role in combating and preventing fraud. CIFAS was formed in 1988 by 8 retailers and is the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service. Since its inception it has now over 260 members spreading across banking, credit cards, asset finance, retail credit, mail order, insurance, savings and investments, telecommunications, factoring and share dealing. On its National Fraud Database CIFAS has over 250,000 confirmed frauds listed. In the last five years a staggering £4.2 Billion of frauds were prevented. Interestingly frauds committed by Mobile phone users are usually traceable as the fraudsters do not normally change their Mobile phone number. Of all the frauds currently committed 45% are related to identity fraud, 25% to application fraud, 21% to the fraudulent misuse of a facility and the remaining 9% to facility takeover/account takeover fraud. In 2006 CIFAS introduced a Staff Fraud Database to help combat the rise of fraud in the workplace. Statistically the highest postcode districts in London listed as fraud hot spots the top three being SE16, SE6 and SE13. so for those living in these areas be very vigilant.
The dangers of fraud on the internet has been widely publicised in particularly internet forums, social networking sites, malware and unsecured wireless networks where most fraud crimes are committed.
Beware of any website that does not display the secure connection displayed as a locked padlock on the screen for any personal information or money transactions. These sites who do not display this sign are potentially unsafe. Looking into the future the top fraud hot spots in the UK in 2012 are the London Olympic Games. So anyone looking for tickets or accommodation should ensure that their purchases are genuine and not purchased cheaply on the Internet or from a friend of a friend or otherwise you could end up as another fraud statistic. After a very interesting presentation Kate finally ended her talk by showing pictures of a fraudster and the photographic evidence of his crime that had secured his conviction which was staggering to say the least. Michael thanked Kate for her very interesting presentation which was echoed by all Members and guests present.
By this time excitement was building and everyone was eagerly looking forward to the climax of the evening of the piping of the Haggis. We all gathered nervously together in a large room awaiting the Piper and Haggis to show themselves. As soon as we heard the squealing sounds of the pipes we knew the Haggis was on its way. Around the corner appeared a very fine dressed kilted gentleman puffing into the blowpipe of his bagpipes escorting the Haggis on its way to its demise. With full ceremony our brave Piper addressed the Haggis and with a stabbing motion thrust his dagger into its middle which brought a few sad tears to those watching. Members and guest of a nervous disposition were gently requested to turn away or shut their eyes. Unbeknown to us earlier there was a similar ceremony featuring a vegetarian Haggis, a far gentler beast I have been told unlike his carnivorous cousin.
When the ceremony was over we were all invited to partake in tasting the haggis with neeps and tatties drowned with a wee dram of the golden Scottish nectar which went down a treat. After all the hype and excitement had died down, Members and guests enjoyed the rest of the evening exchanging stories and experiences whilst sampling the various liquid refreshments that were kindly provided A truly memorable evening enjoyed by an appreciative and lively audience.
A special thanks was extended to Kate for a very interesting and absorbing presentation and to Michael Wykes and Smith & Williamson for hosting this very special evening.
Student’s Night
The event was geared up as a fun and social networking event in which students and members could mix and mingle sharing their experiences while having the opportunity to compete in the numerous Wii games that were on offer. Many had not played before so it took a little time to master the delicate manoeuvres of the hand held control pad. Once mastered, all gloves were off and it was every man/woman for themselves.
The evening’s competition began with shooting which was similar to the space invaders arcade game and continued with tennis doubles, which was very competitive and a lot of fun, especially when trying to serve which takes a bit of quick hand co-ordination.
Some of the less skilled at this took many attempts to serve, much to the amusement of the others taking part. Golf, which followed, was quite skilled and was not as easy as it first appeared. Nonetheless, once it had started, each competitor got into their stride and the result was a close nail biting finish. Boxing was also a favourite, in which the ladies excelled in defeating all male contenders, saying a lot about our chosen profession.
A few of us then played in a dance competition in which each contender had to mimic the dance routine on the screen and the winner was the one who had copied the exact movements. Surprisingly Ron Johnson, Education Secretary, scored the most points and was declared the winner.
Halfway through the evening we all took a break and shared a wonderful buffet of elephant sized burgers, with big fat chunky chips. This was accompanied by a selection of beers and wines which went down a treat.
Having eaten our fill we were less energetic than before so a few rounds of golf, pool and mule racing were played before the evening’s entertainment came to an end.
A great fun night with plenty of laughs and socialising between students and members and a night the London Branch would like to repeat in the near future.
