Case Study
Engaged to provide client with exposure to the most credit‐worthy public‐sector issuer in Ghana, Rhombus developed a mechanism to finance claims payable by the local Cocoa Board in respect of crop deliveries by licensed buying agents.
Launched in 2013, SCORES1 product created a local‐currency instrument implicitly backed by full faith and credit of the republic, yet yielding 400 b.p. more than the closest equivalent sovereign instrument available to offshore investors in the country. The project entailed, inter alia:
- Extensive consultations with competent government agencies in order to map out (i) the intermediate segment of the cocoa supply‐chain and, (ii) the precise mechanics of the associated flow of funds.
- Identifying a suitable local counterparty from among non‐bank financial institutions servicing the cocoa procurement sector and then negotiating heads‐of‐terms on behalf of the client.
- Negotiating with the local subsidiary of an offshore bank for it to act, within the cost‐efficient framework of a custody agreement, as fiscal and paying agent for the SCORES product.
- After helping to select an Accra law firm to verify the transferability of the relevant claims and advise on regulatory and tax matters, managing the partner‐led team assigned task of documenting the SCORES transaction.
1i.e. ‘Securitization’ of Cocobod Receivables