The credit insurer assesses the financial health of companies' clients, based on a real-time analysis of country, sector and credit risks, and provides information that enables transactions to be carried out more securely. The credit insurer alerts companies of any changes in the financial situation of their clients. Debt collection A service offered by Coface in some countries. If a risk is established, it collects debts in their name and guarantees the payment of trade receivables. In providing that guarantee, credit insurance also enables improved credit and loan conditions from banks. Business information To prevent the risk of non-payment, it is important to collect relevant information on buyers and their environment. An analysis of this information serves as a basis for decision-making. Coface offers various information services, ranging from the provision of raw data to a risk-taking recommendation on any company in the world. Multiple levels of information are collected and analyzed: information reports, synthetic indicators of single and global risk, and various risk-taking recommendation tools. Factoring Factoring allows companies to grant extended payment deadlines to their clients. The company issues its invoice as usual. Coface then provides it with virtually the entire amount of the invoice until the client's payment is received. Bonding When submitting a bid for an RFP, importing/exporting, or conducting certain types of transactions, companies sometimes need guarantees. Coface offers four types of bonds: market guarantees, regulated profession guarantees, environmental guarantees, and customs/excise duty guarantees. Economic research Coface's Economic Research department analyzes country and sector risks and corporate insolvencies worldwide. Their studies are published on the Coface websites, with their forecasts on international or business risks. Each year, Coface publishes its Country & Sector Risk Handbook, providing an economic outlook for 162 countries and 13 global sectors. Coface's Economic Research departement is made up of 12 economists based in 6 regions of the world and is headed by Julien Marcilly. 230 credit analysts specialized by business sector complete the organization. Country Risk Assessments Coface's country risk analysis enables companies to assess the risk of a business defaulting in a given country, and to evaluate the overall quality of the business environment in the country to which it wishes to export goods or services. Coface assigns a rating to each of the 162 countries it monitors. This rating reflects the average risk of short-term non-payment for companies in this country. Eight ranks are used: A1: very low