Confirming House

Summary of Confirming House

A commercial institution engaged in nonrecourse financing of foreign trade. The confirming house may confirm a foreign buyer's order, acting as guarantor of payment to the seller; in some cases, the confirming house may actually take title to the goods as agent for the foreign purchaser, arranging shipment of the goods. Confirming houses are particularly active in London, but they are growing in significance in New York and other major trading cities as well.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)

Confirming House in International Trade

Meaning of Confirming House, according to the Dictionary of International Trade (Global Negotiator): A trading company that represents the interests of foreign buyers. Confirming houses typically negotiate purchases on behalf of their overseas principals, place their domestic orders in the suppliers'countries, arrange for export handling and transportation to the buyer, and locally pay the suppliers.