Where can I purchase a Standby Letter of Credit from a major bank
without having to have assets to back the value of the SLC?  E.g.
Where can I purchse a $10m SLC for 5% ($500,000) on the strength of my
business plan without having $10m assets to back the SLC amount?

I.e. I wish to use a SLC to leverage my current cash for an strategic
investment for my firm but only have a business plan to back it up.

Please provide contact details of the specific bank.

You can go to wells Fargo, bank of America, or citibanks websites and
search under letters of credit. They all have information on this. I
reccomend calling a rep there, and talking to them about it. They can
also fax you documents on their different programs. You will have to
have some type of credit to back it up though. A letter of credit is
only terms, and must be paid out at the end of the terms (ie after 90
days) So you will have to have something to give the bank like a loan,
or get the loan through the bank who gives the LC . So you should get
a loan first, then a letter of credit if you want to hold onto you
cash for that period of time.