Bank guarantee
A bank guarantee is an irrevocable bank commitment by signature, by order of one of its customers (the applicant), to pay a certain sum of money to a beneficiary, upon receipt of a complying demand from him informing the bank that the customer failed to fulfil its contractual obligations. The bank guarantee is a security given by the bank to protect the beneficiary against the applicant’s default. The bank only commits to pay, in whole or in part, in one or in several drawings, the amount stated in the guarantee. This means that the bank will not, and is not liable to deliver the goods or to assume responsibility for carrying out a project. Bank guarantees may have multiple purposes: tender guarantee, advance payment guarantee, performance guarantee, retention money guarantee or payment guarantee.