Letter of Credit Accommodations (a) Subject to, and upon the terms and conditions contained herein, at the request of Borrower, Lender agrees to provide or arrange for Letter of Credit Accommodations for the account of Borrower containing terms and conditions acceptable to Lender, Borrower and the issuer thereof. Any payments made by Lender to any issuer thereof and/or related parties in connection with the Letter of Credit Accommodations shall constitute additional Loans to Borrower pursuant to this Section 2. (b) In addition to any charges, fees or expenses charged by any bank or issuer in connection with the Letter of Credit Accommodations, Borrower shall pay to Lender a letter of credit fee at a rate equal to two percent (2%) per annum on the daily outstanding balance of the Letter of Credit Accommodations for the immediately preceding month (or part thereof), payable in arrears as of the first day of each succeeding month; provided, that, if any of the Letter of Credit Accommodations have expired with any amount remaining unpaid thereunder, such Letter of Credit Accommodation shall continue to be included in the daily outstanding balance of the Letter of Credit Accommodations for purposes of calculating such letter of credit fee until the earlier of (i) the payment under the Letter of Credit Accommodation of all amounts which were unpaid upon its expiration date or (ii) a period of thirty (30) days after the stated expiration date of such Letter of Credit Accommodation. Such letter of credit fee shall be calculated on the basis of a three hundred sixty (360) day year and actual days elapsed and the obligation of Borrower to pay such fee shall survive the termination or non-renewal of this Agreement. (c) Borrower shall give Lender two (2) Business Days’ prior written notice of Borrower’s request for the issuance of a Letter of Credit Accommodation. Such notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the original face amount of the Letter of Credit Accommodation requested, the effective date (which date shall be a Business Day and in no event shall be a date less than ten (10) days’ prior to the end of the then current term of this Agreement) of issuance of such requested Letter of Credit Accommodation, whether such Letter of Credit Accommodations may be drawn in a single or in partial draws, the date on which such requested Letter of Credit Accommodation is to expire (which date shall be a Business Day), the purpose for which such Letter of Credit Accommodation is to be issued, and the beneficiary of the requested Letter of Credit Accommodation. Borrower shall attach to such notice the proposed terms of the Letter of Credit Accommodation. (d) In addition to being subject to the satisfaction of the applicable conditions precedent contained in Section 4 hereof and the other terms and conditions contained herein, no (i) Borrower shall have delivered to the proposed issuer of such Letter of Credit Accommodation at such times and in such manner as such proposed issuer may require, an application, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such proposed issuer and Lender, for the issuance of the Letter of Credit Accommodation and such other documents as may be required pursuant to the terms thereof, and the form and terms of the proposed Letter of Credit Accommodation shall be reasonably satisfactory to Lender and such proposed issuer, (ii) as of the date of issuance, no order of any court, arbitrator or other Governmental Authority shall purport by its terms to enjoin or restrain money center banks generally from issuing letters of credit of the type and in the amount of the proposed Letter of Credit Accommodation, and no law, rule or regulation applicable to money center banks generally and no request or directive (whether or not having the force of law) from any Governmental Authority with jurisdiction over money center banks generally shall prohibit, or request that the proposed issuer of such Letter of Credit Accommodation refrain from, the issuance of letters of credit generally or the issuance of such Letters of Credit Accommodation; and (iii) the Excess Availability, prior to giving effect to any Availability Reserves with respect to such Letter of Credit Accommodations, on the date of the proposed issuance of any Letter of Credit Accommodations, shall be equal to or greater than: (A) if the proposed Letter of Credit Accommodation is for the purpose of purchasing Eligible Inventory consisting of leaf tobacco Inventory and the documents of title with respect thereto are consigned to the issuer, the sum of (1) the percentage equal to one hundred percent (100%) minus the then applicable percentage with respect to Eligible Inventory consisting of leaf tobacco set forth in Section 2.1(a) multiplied by the Value of such Eligible Inventory, plus (2) freight, taxes, duty and other amounts which Lender estimates must be paid in connection with such Inventory upon arrival and for delivery to one of Borrower’s locations for Eligible Inventory within the United States of America and (B) if the proposed Letter of Credit Accommodation is for any other purpose or the documents of title are not consigned to the issuer in connection with a Letter of Credit Accommodation for the purpose of purchasing Inventory, an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the face amount thereof and all other commitments and obligations made or incurred by Lender with respect thereto. Effective on the issuance of each Letter of Credit Accommodation, an Availability Reserve shall be established in the applicable amount set forth in Section 2.2(d)(iii)(A) or Section 2.2(d)(iii)(B). (e) Except in Lender’s discretion, the amount of all outstanding Letter of Credit Accommodations and all other commitments and obligations made or incurred by Lender in connection therewith, shall not at any time exceed $5,000,000. At any time an Event of Default exists or has occurred and is continuing, upon Lender’s request, Borrower will either furnish cash collateral to secure the reimbursement obligations to the issuer in connection with any Letter of Credit Accommodations or furnish cash collateral to Lender for the Letter of Credit Accommodations, and in either case, the Loans otherwise available to Borrower shall not be reduced as provided in Section 2.2(d) to the extent of such cash collateral (f) Borrower shall indemnify and hold Lender harmless from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses which Lender may suffer or incur in connection with any Letter of Credit Accommodations and any documents, drafts or acceptances relating thereto, including, but not limited to, any losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses due to any action taken by any issuer or correspondent with respect to any Letter of Credit Accommodation, other than any such loss, claim, damage, liability, cost or expense resulting only from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Lender. Borrower assumes all risks with respect to the acts or omissions of the drawer under or beneficiary of any Letter of Credit Accommodation and for such purposes the drawer or beneficiary shall be deemed Borrower’s agent Borrower assumes all risks for, and agrees to pay, all foreign, Federal, State and local taxes, duties and levies relating to any good subject to any Letter of Credit Accommodations or any documents, drafts or acceptances thereunder. Borrower hereby releases and holds Lender harmless from and against any acts, waivers, errors, delays or omissions, whether caused by Borrower, by any issuer or correspondent or otherwise with respect to or relating to any Letter of Credit Accommodation. The provisions of this Section 2.2(f) shall survive the payment of Obligations and the termination or non-renewal of this Agreement. (g) In connection with Inventory purchased pursuant to Letter of Credit Accommodations, Borrower shall, at Lender’s request, instruct all suppliers, carriers, forwarders, customs brokers, warehouses or others receiving or holding cash, checks, Inventory, documents or instruments in which Lender holds a security interest to deliver them to Lender and/or subject to Lender’s order, and if they shall come into Borrower’s possession, to deliver them, upon Lender’s request, to Lender in their original form. Borrower shall also, at Lender’s request, designate Lender as the consignee on all bills of lading and other negotiable and non-negotiable documents. (h) So long as no Event of Default exists or has occurred and is continuing, Borrower may (i) approve or resolve any questions of non-compliance of documents, (ii) give any instructions as to acceptance or rejection of any documents or goods, (iii) execute any and all applications for steamship or airway guaranties, indemnities or delivery orders, and (iv) with Lender’s consent, grant any extensions of the maturity of, time of payment for, or time of presentation of, any drafts, acceptances, or documents, and agree to any amendments, renewals, extensions, modifications, changes or cancellations of any of the terms or conditions of any of the applications, Letter of Credit Accommodations, or documents, drafts or acceptances thereunder or any letters of credit included in the Collateral. (i) Borrower hereby irrevocably authorizes and directs any issuer of a Letter of Credit Accommodation to name Borrower as the account party therein and to deliver to Lender all instruments, documents and other writings and property received by issuer pursuant to the Letter of Credit Accommodations and to accept and rely upon Lender’s instructions and agreements with respect to all matters arising in connection with the Letter of Credit Accommodations or the applications therefor. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed or construed to grant Borrower any right or authority to pledge the credit of Lender in any manner. Lender shall have no liability of any kind with respect to any Letter of Credit Accommodation provided by an issuer other than Lender unless Lender has duly executed and delivered to such issuer the application or a guarantee or indemnification in writing with respect to such Letter of Credit Accommodation. Borrower shall be bound by any reasonable interpretation made in good faith by Lender, or any other issuer or correspondent under or in connection with any Letter of Credit Accommodation or any documents, drafts or acceptances thereunder, notwithstanding that such interpretation may be inconsistent with any instructions of Borrower. (j) At any time an Event of Default exists or has occurred and is continuing, Lender shall have the right and authority to, and Borrower shall not, without the prior written consent of Lender, (i) approve or resolve any questions of non-compliance of documents, (ii) give any instructions as to acceptance or rejection of any documents or goods, (iii) execute any and all applications for steamship or airway guaranties, indemnities or delivery orders, (iv) grant any extensions of the maturity of, time of payments for, or time of presentation of, any drafts, acceptances, or documents, and (v) agree to any amendments, renewals, extensions, modifications, changes or cancellations of any of the terms or conditions of any of the applications, Letter of Credit Accommodations, or documents, drafts or acceptances thereunder or any letters of credit included in the Collateral. Lender may take such actions either in its own name or in Borrower’s name. (k) Any rights, remedies, duties or obligations granted or undertaken by Borrower to any issuer or correspondent in any application for any Letter of Credit Accommodation, or any other agreement in favor of any issuer or correspondent relating to any Letter of Credit Accommodation, shall be deemed to have been granted or undertaken by Borrower to Lender. Any duties or obligations undertaken by Lender to any issuer or correspondent in any application for any Letter of Credit Accommodation, or any other agreement by Lender in favor of any issuer or correspondent to the extent relating to any Letter of Credit Accommodation, shall be deemed to have been undertaken by Borrower to Lender and to apply in all respects to Borrower.
Letter of Credit Participations (a) Immediately upon the issuance by any Letter of Credit Issuer of any Letter of Credit, such Letter of Credit Issuer shall be deemed to have sold and transferred to each Revolving Credit Lender (each such Revolving Credit Lender, in its capacity under this Section 3.3, an “L/C Participant”), and each such L/C Participant shall be deemed irrevocably and unconditionally to have purchased and received from such Letter of Credit Issuer, without recourse or warranty, an undivided interest and participation (each an “L/C Participation”), to the extent of such L/C Participant’s Revolving Credit Commitment Percentage in each Letter of Credit, each substitute therefor, each drawing made thereunder and the obligations of the Borrower under this Agreement with respect thereto, and any security therefor or guaranty pertaining thereto; provided that the Letter of Credit Fees will be paid directly to the Administrative Agent for the ratable account of the L/C Participants as provided in Section 4.1(b) and the L/C Participants shall have no right to receive any portion of any Fronting Fees. (b) In determining whether to pay under any Letter of Credit, the relevant Letter of Credit Issuer shall have no obligation relative to the L/C Participants other than to confirm that any documents required to be delivered under such Letter of Credit have been delivered and that they appear to comply on their face with the requirements of such Letter of Credit. Any action taken or omitted to be taken by the relevant Letter of Credit Issuer under or in connection with any Letter of Credit issued by it, if taken or omitted in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct as determined in the final non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, shall not create for the Letter of Credit Issuers any resulting liability. (c) In the event that any Letter of Credit Issuer makes any payment under any Letter of Credit issued by it and the applicable Borrower shall not have repaid such amount in full to the respective Letter of Credit Issuer through the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 3.4(a), the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each L/C Participant of such failure, and each L/C Participant shall promptly and unconditionally pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of such Letter of Credit Issuer, the amount of such L/C Participant’s Revolving Credit Commitment Percentage of such unreimbursed payment in Dollars and in immediately available funds. If and to the extent such L/C Participant shall not have so made its Revolving Credit Commitment Percentage of the Dollar Equivalent of the amount of such payment available to the Administrative Agent for the account of such Letter of Credit Issuer, such L/C Participant agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of such Letter of Credit Issuer, forthwith on demand, such amount, together with interest thereon for each day from such date until the date such amount is paid to the Administrative Agent for the account of such Letter of Credit Issuer at a rate per annum equal to the Overnight Rate from time to time then in effect, plus any administrative, processing or similar fees that are reasonably and customarily charged by such Letter of Credit Issuer in connection with the foregoing. The failure of any L/C Participant to make available to the Administrative Agent for the account of any Letter of Credit Issuer its Revolving Credit Commitment Percentage of any payment under any Letter of Credit shall not relieve any other L/C Participant of its obligation hereunder to make available to the Administrative Agent for the account of such Letter of Credit Issuer its Revolving Credit Commitment Percentage of any payment under such Letter of Credit on the date required, as specified above, but no L/C Participant shall be responsible for the failure of any other L/C Participant to make available to the Administrative Agent such other L/C Participant’s Revolving Credit Commitment Percentage of any such payment. (d) Whenever the Administrative Agent receives a payment in respect of an unpaid reimbursement obligation as to which the Administrative Agent has received for the account of any Letter of Credit Issuer any payments from the L/C Participants pursuant to clause (c) above, the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to each L/C Participant that has paid its Revolving Credit Commitment Percentage of such reimbursement obligation, in Dollars and in immediately available funds, an amount equal to such L/C Participant’s share (based upon the proportionate aggregate amount originally funded by such L/C Participant to the aggregate amount funded by all L/C Participants) of the Dollar Equivalent of the amount so paid in respect of such reimbursement obligation and interest thereon accruing after the purchase of the respective L/C Participations at the Overnight Rate. (e) The obligations of the L/C Participants to make payments to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Letter of Credit Issuer with respect to Letters of Credit shall be irrevocable and not subject to counterclaim, set-off or other defense or any other qualification or exception whatsoever and shall be made in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement under all circumstances. (f) If any payment received by the Administrative Agent for the account of any Letter of Credit Issuer pursuant to Section 3.3(c) is required to be returned, each Lender shall pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of such Letter of Credit Issuer its Revolving Credit Commitment Percentage thereof on demand of the Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such amount is returned by such Lender, at a rate per annum equal to the applicable Overnight Rate from time to time in effect. The obligations of the Lenders under this clause shall survive the payment in full of the Obligations and the termination of this Agreement.
Letter of Credit Participation Immediately upon the issuance of each Letter of Credit hereunder, each Revolving Lender with a Pro Rata Share shall be deemed to have automatically, irrevocably and unconditionally purchased and received from each Issuing Bank an undivided interest and participation in and to each Letter of Credit, the obligations of the Borrower in respect thereof, and the liability of the applicable Issuing Bank thereunder (collectively, an “L/C Interest”) in an amount equal to the amount available for drawing under such Letter of Credit multiplied by such Revolving Lender’s Pro Rata Share. If the Borrower fails at any time to repay a Reimbursement Obligation pursuant to Section 3.07, promptly following receipt of notice from the Administrative Agent or the applicable Issuing Bank, each Revolving Lender shall make payment to the Administrative Agent, for the account of the applicable Issuing Bank, in immediately available funds in an amount equal to such Revolving Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the amount of any unreimbursed payment of an L/C Draft or other draw under a Letter of Credit. The obligation of each Revolving Lender to reimburse the applicable Issuing Bank under this Section 3.06 shall be unconditional, continuing, irrevocable and absolute. In the event that any Revolving Lender fails to make payment to the Administrative Agent of any amount due under this Section 3.06, the Administrative Agent shall be entitled to receive, retain and apply against such obligation the principal and interest otherwise payable to such Revolving Lender hereunder until the Administrative Agent receives such payment from such Revolving Lender or such obligation is otherwise fully satisfied; provided, however, that nothing contained in this sentence shall relieve such Revolving Lender of its obligation to reimburse the applicable Issuing Bank for such amount in accordance with this Section 3.06.
Letter of Credit Payments If any draft shall be presented for payment under any Letter of Credit, the Issuing Lender shall promptly notify the Borrower of the date and amount thereof. The responsibility of the Issuing Lender to the Borrower in connection with any draft presented for payment under any Letter of Credit shall, in addition to any payment obligation expressly provided for in such Letter of Credit, be limited to determining that the documents (including each draft) delivered under such Letter of Credit in connection with such presentment are substantially in conformity with such Letter of Credit.
Letter of Credit Collateral Account (a) As collateral security for the prompt payment in full when due of all Letter of Credit Liabilities and the other Obligations, the Borrower hereby pledges and grants to the Administrative Agent, for the ratable benefit of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank and the Lenders as provided herein, a security interest in all of its right, title and interest in and to the Letter of Credit Collateral Account and the balances from time to time in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account (including the investments and reinvestments therein provided for below). The balances from time to time in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account shall not constitute payment of any Letter of Credit Liabilities until applied as provided herein. Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, funds held in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account shall be subject to withdrawal only as provided in this Section. (b) Amounts on deposit in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account shall be invested and reinvested by the Administrative Agent in such Cash Equivalents as the Administrative Agent shall determine in its sole discretion. All such investments and reinvestments shall be held in the name of and be under the sole dominion and control of the Administrative Agent for the ratable benefit of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank and the Lenders; provided, that all earnings on such investments will be credited to and retained in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account. The Administrative Agent shall exercise reasonable care in the custody and preservation of any funds held in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account and shall be deemed to have exercised such care if such funds are accorded treatment substantially equivalent to that which the Administrative Agent accords other funds deposited with the Administrative Agent, it being understood that the Administrative Agent shall not have any responsibility for taking any necessary steps to preserve rights against any parties with respect to any funds held in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account. (c) If a drawing pursuant to any Letter of Credit occurs on or prior to the expiration date of such Letter of Credit, the Borrower and the Lenders authorize the Administrative Agent to use the monies deposited in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account to reimburse the Issuing Bank for the payment made by the Issuing Bank to the beneficiary with respect to such drawing. (d) If an Event of Default exists, the Administrative Agent may (and, if instructed by the Requisite Lenders, shall) in its (or their) discretion at any time and from time to time elect to liquidate any such investments and reinvestments and apply the proceeds thereof to the Obligations in accordance with Section 11.5. (e) So long as no Default or Event of Default exists, and to the extent amounts on deposit in or credited to the Letter of Credit Collateral Account exceed the aggregate amount of the Letter of Credit Liabilities then due and owing, the Administrative Agent shall, from time to time, at the request of the Borrower, deliver to the Borrower within ten (10) Business Days after the Administrative Agent’s receipt of such request from the Borrower, against receipt but without any recourse, warranty or representation whatsoever, such amount of the credit balances in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account as exceeds the aggregate amount of Letter of Credit Liabilities at such time. When all of the Obligations shall have been paid in full and no Letters of Credit remain outstanding, the Administrative Agent shall deliver to the Borrower, against receipt but without any recourse, warranty or representation whatsoever, the balances remaining in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account. (f) The Borrower shall pay to the Administrative Agent from time to time such fees as the Administrative Agent normally charges for similar services in connection with the Administrative Agent’s administration of the Letter of Credit Collateral Account and investments and reinvestments of funds therein.