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BNP Paribas and Coface sign a worldwide partnership agreement

BNP Paribas and the Coface Group have just signed a Partnership Agreement providing for distribution of Coface's credit insurance products and @rating Solution via the BNP°Paribas' worldwide Trade Centre network.

Coface Chairman and Managing Director François David and BNP Paribas Group General Manager Baudouin Prot signed the agreement yesterday.

With its worldwide scope, this agreement exploits the international Trade Centre network set up by BNP Paribas since June 2000. Counting 27 operational Trade Centres today including 9 in France, the network should reach 80 Centres by year-end 2002. Set up in the main business and financial centres across five continents, the Trade Centres are staffed by business teams specialised in international trade operations.

BNP Paribas' objective is to broaden its range of business services for companies trading internationally with insurance products that enhance its own traditional international-trade financing services.

Initially, the Trade Centres will distribute Globalliance, the Coface Group's flagship product that is especially suited to the needs of multinational companies. Globalliance is a modular credit insurance policy that provides multinational groups with coverage for all their credit risk exposure while affording them total management flexibility. Whatever the country or language, the same contract adjusts to local particularities. Its management can be either centralised at the main office or decentralised to subsidiaries depending on company organisation.

The Trade Centres will also be intimately involved in distributing @rating Solution products. Created by Coface to improve the visibility of companies dealing business-to-business and make trading relationships secure, @rating provides an assessment of customer risk associated with a risk coverage possibility. At this stage, the Trade Centres will prescribe the following @rating services:
- obtaining @rating Quality Label, which enables companies to be recognised worldwide as reliable partners
- checking the basic @rating assessment of a trading partner's financial soundness by connecting to the Coface Group's database of 35 million companies.
- @rating Protection, whereby business transactions with companies enjoying @rating Quality Label can be made secure.



The BNP Paribas specialised teams' distribution activities could be subsequently broadened to other products or services. Mixed in nature, they would ally Coface Group services with those of the BNP Paribas Group .


François David, Coface Chairman and Managing Director, declares that: "this agreement will enable BNP Paribas customers to benefit from a range of services adapted to their needs in meeting the challenges of international trade globalisation, for traditional business today and electronic business tomorrow."


According to Baudouin Prot, BNP Paribas General Manager "This agreement benefits both groups. Coface can reach a broad selection of the Bank's customers, particularly via our specialised Trade Centre network. Meanwhile, we broaden our range with insurance products that are complementary to our banking services. In the final analysis, the customer will enjoy access to a comprehensive, worked-out solution proposed by a single service provider."






The partners


Coface Group


Rated AA by Fitch, the Coface Group is the world leader in export credit insurance; number one in insurable ratings with @rating (cofacerating.com), the BtoB label of reliable web-based or conventional companies; France's leading source of credit information, and the manager of French government export guarantees. The Group is listed on the Paris Bourse and its shares are included in the SBF 120 and Euronext 150 stock indices.

The Coface Group supports the development of domestic and international trade via a full range of credit related services. These include domestic and cross-border credit insurance, investment insurance, investigation of prospective buyers, credit information, customer monitoring, receivables management, and company ratings. Coface currently provides expert solutions to over 70,000 clients in 93 countries around the world. The Group also offers access to three global networks, CreditAlliance, InfoAlliance and @rating, based on a common risk system for credit information and use of common products and standards worldwide.


Coface press releases, publications and financial information are available on the Internet at: https://www.coface.com



BNP Paribas

Number one French bank and second euro-zone banking group ranked by earnings (4,124°billion°euros in 2000), BNP Paribas is also among the five world leaders in international trade financing, regarding both short term operations and long term export financing.

A presence in over 85 countries underpins that leadership position with 14 offices dedicated to multisource export credit and with outlets focusing on its aeronautics and ship financing activities. The 80 Trade Centres to be operational by year-end 2002 will enhance these capabilities, putting at the disposal of our clientele a network of 400 international trade specialists.


BNP Paribas press releases, publications and financial information are available on the Internet at: https://www.bnpparibas.com