CINCINATTI - Fifth Third Bancorp announced that it will begin issuing letters of credit for cross-border trading this month through ec-Finance.
New York-based ec-Finance allows companies to initiate letters of credit, make amendments, and track transactions online. It has a similar agreement with $170 million-asset Commercial Bank of San Francisco.
The Internet company has alliances with four marketplaces - MeetChina.com, Commodinet, Tradeeasy.com, and IBNet - and is looking to enter more international marketplaces and to team up with more banks.
