Pub. 5 2014 Issue 2

summer 2014 23 West Virginia Banker Individuals interested in receiving more infomation or contributing to the success of the project may contact Jacob Manning via email at jacob.manning@dinsmore.com for more information or to provide assistance in reviewing or dissemi- nating the Model Form. letter of credit law, when other drafting decisions could be made to achieve the same effect and better-protect the state. Third, and finally, the wage bond form references Section 21- 5-14 in several places, but like many governmentally-mandated standbys, it does not state for what purpose. If those references create nondocumentary conditions, Section 46-5-108(g) permits the issuer to ignore them. Again, if there is reason to require something more of the issuer, it should simply be stated in the text of the letter of credit itself. Organization of the Task Force In light of these issues and others, in early 2014, the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice formed the Task Force on Model ISP98 Governmentally-Mandated Standbys to help draft a model form that all governmental agencies, such as the Department of Labor, could adopt. The Task Force is co-chaired by Fiore F. Petrassi, of JP Morgan Chase Bank, and Jacob A. Manning, of Dinsmore & Shohl’s Wheeling office. To accomplish its goal of developing a Model Form to be used by government agencies, the Task Force has brought together governmental entities, bankers, lawyers, government contracting firms, and trade associations. The Task Force’s work has been organized into three main phases. First, the Task Force has begun to discuss the issues raised by governmentally-mandated standbys, and particularly, to consid- er specific examples of such forms. The Task Force gathered sample forms from around the United States and identified issues common to those forms, and it has begun discussing how the Model Form may address those issues. In the second phase of the Task Force’s work, the Task Force will call together the various stakeholders to a public meeting at which current forms and the draft of the Model Form can be discussed. The public meeting is intended to provide a forum for all stakeholders to consider the draft Model Form and comment on whether that Model Form could be adopted by governmental agencies in place of existing forms. Finally, in the third phase of the Task Force’s work, the Task Force will finalize work on the draft Model Form. The Task Force’s goal is to create a Model Form that governmental agen- cies will find suitable to meet their needs and that private stake- holders are willing to issue. Of course, part of the Task Force’s work will be to disseminate the Model Form to governmental agencies and advocate its adoption. Ultimately, the success of the project will be determined by the governmental entities that adopt the Model Form. n