Berne Union reports an increase in new business, but also high claims

Once a year, representatives of export credit and investment insurance companies meet at the annual general meeting of the Berne Union (BU) to discuss business developments, current challenges and relevant industry topics. 260 people from 70 member organisations of the BU participated in the meeting in Belgrade this October. OeKB as Austria's official export credit agency also joined the meeting.

Here you can find the most relevant results:

• Members reported strong growth in new business. After consistently declining volumes since 2011, new business has risen significantly in the first half of 2017. For medium to long term export credits, the increase in the first six months of the year was 35% compared to the first half of 2016.
• The majority of the BU members expects further growth in new business volumes for the coming months and expresses optimism with respect to global economic growth in 2018.
• Claims, particularly for economic reasons, have risen in 2017.
• The business environment remains challenging. The key issues for export credit agencies in the coming months are the regulatory environment, sanctions, unresolved conflicts and regionally rising debt.

Export credit agencies (ECAs) remain key players on the market. In sum, the members of the Berne Union insure about 10% of world trade. In the first 6 months of 2017 BU members insured:

About Berne Union

The Berne Union (BU) was founded in 1934 by 4 private and public export credit agencies from France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. This association is aiming at promoting export credit and investment insurance. 82 members from 68 countries are united in the Berne Union. The OeKB has been a member of the BU since 1954.