Trade finance loan due and the stock hasn't sold: what are your options?

The container landed in September. The invoice to your overseas supplier was paid with a trade finance loan. And now the repayment date is a few weeks away, half the stock is still in the warehouse, and the cash from sales hasn’t turned up. This is one of the most common squeezes in importing, and it has a sequence that works.

Can I extend a trade finance loan that’s about to mature?

Usually you can ask, and often the answer is yes, provided you ask early and bring a plan. Banks treat an extension as a rollover: the existing loan is repaid by a new one, with a new maturity date, inside the maximum trade finance period already agreed for your facility. NAB’s guide to creating, extending and repaying a Trade Finance loan walks through exactly that: you find the live loan, choose to extend it, and enter the new tenor, which sets the new maturity date.

Two things sit behind that screen:

• The ceiling. Your facility letter sets a maximum period. If you’re already near it, a rollover may not be possible without a new approval.
• The lender’s discretion. It’s a credit decision, not a button. A relationship manager will want to know why the stock hasn’t sold.

If you want the basics of how these facilities work first, our trade finance page covers the mechanics.

What does a lender weigh before agreeing to roll it over?

Think of it from the lender’s chair. They advanced money so you could buy stock, expecting the sale of that stock to repay them. Slow sales change the picture, and these are the questions that matter:

1. Why is it slow? A late shipment, a delayed season or one big customer pushing out an order are explainable. Stock nobody wants is a different story.
2. What’s already sold? Sales that have been invoiced but not yet paid show the stock is moving, even if the cash hasn’t landed.
3. What is the realistic sell-through date? A specific plan beats a hopeful one.
4. What does the rest of your account look like? Bank statements showing regular trading and no other arrears help a great deal. See what lenders read in your bank statements.
5. What are you offering? A part-payment now, fresh security, or a shorter extension than you asked for.

What does it take to part-repay and roll the rest?

This is the move most owners miss. Instead of asking to extend 100% of the loan, you repay what your sold stock has already earned and extend only the balance. NAB’s guide lists full repayment, early repayment and partial payment as the options on a live loan, so the mechanism is normal, not exceptional.

The lender sees a smaller exposure, and evidence that the stock is converting. It’s often the difference between a quick yes and a long “let me take that to credit”.

If you’d rather have a second opinion on the plan before you call the lender, you can tell us about the loan and the stock and a real person will talk it through.

Which step comes first if the date is only a few weeks away?

Work in this order:

• Count the stock. What has sold, what is on order from customers, and what’s unlikely to move before the maturity date.
• Calculate what you can pay now. Cash in the bank, receivables due before maturity, and anything you can release without starving the business.
• Call the lender before the date, not on it. Lead with the plan: “I’d like to repay X and extend Y by Z weeks, and here’s why.”
• Get the new date in writing, with any change to fees or conditions.
• Line up a backup in parallel, because credit decisions can take longer than you’d hope.

Is GST a lever at maturity time?

For some importers, yes. Under the ATO’s deferred GST scheme, approved importers still pay customs duty and other charges at the border, but the GST on imports is reported on their BAS instead. To be eligible you need an ABN, be registered for GST, and lodge activity statements online (monthly lodgement applies). The deferred GST is then claimed as a credit on the same BAS if the goods are for taxable business use, so the net effect is mostly timing, but timing is exactly what you need when stock is slow.

If you’re not on the scheme and you have a big container coming, applying is worth a look before your next order. It won’t fix this maturity date, though, and the ATO can withdraw access if your tax obligations slip, so it works best as part of a clean tax position. The business.gov.au importing guide is a good starting point for the costs that land on top of the invoice.

What are the fallback options if the answer is no?

Sometimes the lender won’t extend. Perhaps you’ve hit the maximum period, or the stock has aged badly. These are the shelves to check, in rough order of how closely they match the problem:

Option	How it helps	Watch for
Inventory finance	Borrows against the stock itself, so it can refinance the trade loan	Lenders value slow-moving stock conservatively
Business line of credit	A revolving limit to repay the trade loan and give you breathing room	Needs a limit big enough for the balance
Debtor finance	Releases cash from invoices once the stock sells on terms	Only helps after the sale
Short-term bridging cash	Covers the gap while sales catch up	Make sure the exit is clear

None of these is a free fix. You’re swapping one obligation for another, so the question is whether the new one fits your sales cycle better than the old one did.

What does a late or partial repayment actually cost you?

The cost isn’t only a fee. A missed maturity date typically moves the loan into arrears under your facility terms, which can bring default charges and stop you drawing on the facility for the next order. It also shapes the lender’s view at the next review: a business that rings early with a plan reads very differently from one that goes quiet.

The same logic applies to the other side of the table. If your customers are paying you late, tell the lender that too, and have the debtor list ready. A lender can work with a known delay; it can’t work with a surprise.

Common mistakes at maturity

• Waiting for the stock to sell first. The call is easiest while the loan is still current.
• Asking for far more time than needed. A shorter, specific extension is easier to approve than an open-ended one.
• Rolling the same slow stock repeatedly. After one rollover, the better question is whether the stock needs discounting to turn it into cash.
• Ignoring other lenders’ terms. Some equipment or property-secured loans have clauses on extra borrowing, so check before you swap one facility for another.

An illustrative example

This scenario is illustrative only. A Brisbane homewares importer drew a trade loan to pay for a winter range, due in 120 days. A shipping delay pushed the stock into stores three weeks late, and by the maturity date about half of it has sold.

The owner counts the sold stock, finds the paid invoices cover roughly half the loan and calls the relationship manager three weeks before the date. The pitch: repay the half now, roll the balance for 45 days, and supply the sales report and the stockist orders already confirmed. The lender agrees to a shorter extension than first requested, with a review at the end of it.

For the next range, the importer asks for a longer tenor from the start, sized against the actual cash cycle, and orders a smaller first container.

How do I size the term next time?

Most trade loans go wrong at the planning stage, not at maturity.

• Add the whole cycle, not just the shipping time: production, sea freight, clearance, delivery, then selling and collecting.
• Add a buffer, because late ships and slow weeks are normal.
• Match the season. Stock bought for summer should mature after summer has had a chance to deliver.
• Stagger orders so you don’t have several loans maturing at once.

Ready to look at your options?

If your trade loan is due and the stock is stuck, the sooner you look at the alternatives, the more choices you’ll have. Telling us about your business takes about 60 seconds, and there’s no credit check when you first enquire, so asking won’t touch your credit file. We won’t pass your details to a pile of lenders; a real person reads your enquiry, looks at your situation and calls you to talk it through.

Please fill the form in accurately, including how much is owing, how much stock is left and when it’s due, so we can point you at the right option the first time.

Check your options before the due date →