In October 2009, the UK government launched the Letter of Credit Guarantee Scheme covering up to 90% of the risk on eligible letters of credit for British exporters.
According to the information guide provided by the UK Export Finance authority, "UKEF can typically guarantee between 50% and 90% of the value of the letter of credit".
In order to be eligible for the scheme, the exporter must carry out its business in the UK and there are no minimum or maximum limits on the value of the letter of credit.
The programme covers exports to all countries apart from the EU, Canada, the United States, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and Australia.
The scheme was meant to last until March 2011 but was indefinitely extended during the launch of the Bond Support Scheme (cf. Related Measures).