Brown Brothers Harriman has been operating in the commodity finance business for over 200 years.

The value of working capital trapped on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz is estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars, potentially exceeding $100 billion.

Louis Hart predicts that a prolonged, multi-month closure of the Strait of Hormuz could cause significant strain on the commodity finance system due to the large amount of trapped capital.

The global cashew supply chain typically involves shipping raw cashews from West Africa to processing facilities in countries like Vietnam and India.

The cost to finance a single Aframax oil tanker shipment has risen from approximately $40-45 million to $70-75 million since the Strait of Hormuz disruption began before February 28th.

The implementation of Basel IV regulations has contributed to some banks exiting the commodity finance market by increasing capital requirements for activities like issuing letters of credit.

Louis Hart predicts that Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia will increasingly invest in building new pipelines to create alternative export routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Rerouting ships from the Suez Canal around the Cape of Good Hope adds 10 to 15 or more days to voyage times, increasing costs for working capital, ship day rates, and insurance.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has trapped approximately 20% of the global oil supply.

An estimated 1,500 commercial vessels are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a recent Pentagon report.

In response to market volatility from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, commodity merchants raised additional capital, leaving them well-funded for the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

Brown Brothers Harriman considers the 'character' of a borrower to be the most important factor in its '5 C's of credit' underwriting framework.

Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have forced shipping traffic between Shanghai and Northern Europe to bypass the Suez Canal and reroute around the Cape of Good Hope.