Bpifrance and Euler Hermes, the global leader in credit insurance, signed a partnership agreement to offer French companies a new short-term financing solution known as AVANCE+EXPORT, which involves the assignment of export receivables and helps companies further diversify internationally.
“Our mission is to support the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises (PMEs) and mid-size enterprises (ETIs), notably through innovation and access to international opportunities,” said Nicolas Dufourcq, chief executive officer of Bpifrance. “AVANCE+EXPORT further extends the line of Bpifrance products aimed at promoting the development of French companies in export markets. By financing their working capital requirements more efficiently, we seek to promote the development of their commercial transactions with foreign customers.”
France has only 120,000 exporters, compared with 300,000 in Germany, and overall export performance is driven mainly by large corporations. Bpifrance is therefore adding to its line of receivables financing products to support PME / ETI companies using the receivables assignment technique.
To expand its product line, Bpifrance chose to team up with Euler Hermes, which will analyze the buyer’s ability to make payments. The global leader in credit insurance will contribute its combined knowledge of buyer risk and country risk along with its international network and expertise in insuring commercial transactions and commercial debt collection around the world.
“Thanks to our daily monitoring of companies around the world, we have observed that the risk of unpaid invoices on exports by French companies remains high,” notes Nicolas Delzant, chairman of the Board of Management of Euler Hermes France. “In 2014, for example, the IDEX index, which tracks company insolvency trends among France’s leading export partners, was nearly twice as high as its pre-crisis level. Through this new product line, Bpifrance’s customers will be able to obtain additional and secure financing.”