n3 In any event, the analogy between standby letters of credit and guarantees is not as "forced" as the majority would suggest. As one commentator recently observed, "upon closer analysis, the borders between standby credits and contracts of guarantee are not so well settled as they may first appear." (McLaughlin, Standby Letters of Credit and Guaranties: An Exercise in Cartography (1993) 34 Wm. & Mary L.Rev. 1139, 1140; see also Alces, An Essay on Independence, Interdependence, and the Suretyship Principle (1993) 1993 U. Ill. L.Rev. 447 [rejecting distinction between letters of credit and "secondary obligations," i.e., guarantees and sureties].) Moreover, "courts have long recognized that, in a sense, issuers of credits 'must be regarded as sureties.' [Citation.] A seller of goods often insists on a commercial letter of credit because he is unsure of the buyer's ability to pay. The standby letter of credit arises out of situations in which the beneficiary wants to guard against the applicant's nonperformance. In both instances, the credit serves in the nature of a guaranty." Dolan, The Law of Letters of Credit: Commercial and Standby Credits (2d ed. 1991) § 2.10[1], pp. 2-61 to 2-62.)