What is the difference between performance bond and bank guarantee in International Trade?

If the bank issues a guarantee, the contractual arrangement between the parties is trilateral, whereby the bank undertakes a secondary obligation to guarantee that B will perform its contractual obligations to A. Therefore, any defences available to B are also available to the bank, and A must prove that B has invalidly failed to perform its contractual obligations. In such a case, depending on the nature of the guarantee, A can have recourse against the bank: (a) in damages, for a breach of the bank's obligation to ensure B's performance; or (b) requiring it to step into B's shoes and pay the amount owed by B on the satisfaction of any notice or demand requirements contained in the guarantee.

To the contrary, when the bank issues a performance bond, there are two independent bilateral arrangements in place: one between A and B, and the other between A and the bank. By virtue of the performance bond, the bank is obliged to pay A the secured amount if certain notice/demand conditions are satisfied, irrespective of whether any payment is due from B to A under the primary contractual arrangement.

Therefore, whether a given transaction involves a guarantee or a performance bond depends on the relative bargaining strengths of the parties, and the difference assumes great significance in cases where there is a dispute between A and B as to the existence of the primary payment obligation. It was one such case which was recently considered by the English High Court in Wuhan Guoyu v Emporiki Bank of Greece [2012] EWHC 1715 (Comm).