Coface

Rating agency AM Best, on 17 December 2019, has affirmed Coface North America Insurance Company’s ‘A’ (Excellent) Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating, with a stable outlook.

While the number of companies facing corporate insolvency has decreased since the beginning of the year, their cost has increased, both financially and in terms of the number of jobs affected. After a difficult first quarter, marked by the repercussions of the “yellow vests” movement, the number of corporate insolvencies since the beginning of the year in France is set to decline for the fourth consecutive year. However, Coface expects a slight rebound in insolvencies in 2020 (+0.9%), mainly due to the expected slowdown in the construction sector, which was largely driven by public works in 2019 in the run-up to the municipal elections.

Hit by increasingly stringent regulations, particularly for environmental purposes, the global automotive industry is facing a downturn and is being forced to reinvent itself. In a gloomy global economic context, the automotive sector faces several very specific challenges, including stronger and stricter environmental regulations. As a result, car sales are experiencing negative growth not seen since the Great Recession of 2008 and there is an uncertainty prevailing in the sector.

COFACE SA announces that it has received authorisation from the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) to use the group’s Partial Internal Model for calculating its regulatory capital requirement under the Solvency II Directive as soon as at 31 December 2019.

Coface launches its new portal for brokers, offering a new experience to its partners in the development of their business around the world.

85% of companies report longer payment terms in 2019 vs 2017. According to Coface's 2019 Germany payment survey of 442 companies in, the country is in a phase of change. The pressure on companies from international competition is increasing.

Coface recorded yet another strong quarter despite an economic context that has continued to deteriorate in line with our expectations. Our strong performance illustrates the effectiveness of the transformation we have implemented within Coface over the past three years, which has notably resulted in the significant improvement of our risk management processes. Commercial momentum was positive this quarter, as new business is continuing to grow whereas our clients’ activity is slowing down. We are maintaining our selective underwriting policy, which is now bearing fruit in a more volatile environment.

Recession or slight decline, CRAFT provides the keys to the slowdown in the major economies of the Eurozone.

Participating in this prestigious award for the first time, Coface France took the highest step on the podium, acknowledging the many initiatives deployed by Coface to better assist its customers.

Central to the current trade tensions, notably between the USA and China, the global agri-food sector is impacted by knock on effects, notably via downward trends on the prices of key agri-food commodities, such as soybean. Coface has conducted an in-depth analysis of future trends in this market.

With business morale being affected by a summer marked by a multiplication of areas of political uncertainty around the world, it seems likely that 2020 will be a year of economic decline.

Faced with fluctuations in hydrocarbon prices and economic sanctions from Western countries, Russia has developed a strategy that favours "Made in Russia" - but the results have remained mixed.