Compagnie Française d'Assurance pour le Commerce Extérieur (Coface) is a credit insurer that operates worldwide' in addition to offering debt collection services, factoring and business information, and bonds. Created in 1946, Coface was listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange in 2014. Coface employs 4,100 staff in 66 countries. Each quarter, Coface publishes its assessments of country risk for 160 countries, based on its knowledge of companies' payment behavior and on the expertise of its underwriters. History Coface was founded in 1946 as the French specialist export credit insurance company. During the 1990s, Coface developed internationally through internal and external growth, by acquiring credit insurance companies and by creating new subsidiaries or branches. External acquisitions included La Viscontea in 1992 (Italian safety and credit insurance company), London Bridge Finance in 1993 (UK financial company providing credit insurance services), Allgemeine Kredit in 1996 (German company providing domestic and export credit insurance options) and Osterreichische Kreditversicherung in 1997 (Austrian credit insurer) along with the acquisition of the Continental portfolio in the US in 2002. The Group's international development also involved the creation of the Coface Partner network in 1992, which enabled it to conclude partnerships with general insurance groups and banks, notably in emerging markets. In 2002, Natixis became the majority shareholder of Coface. In 2014, Coface was listed on the Paris stock exchange (Euronext Paris, CAC Small. In 2016, Coface transferred the state guarantees’s activities to the public bank Bpifrance thus putting an end to Coface's activities for the French State. In 2018, Coface announced the acquisition of PKZ, market leader in credit insurance in Slovenia, and a subsidiary of SID Bank16. On February 25, 2020, Natixis announced that it had signed a partnership agreement with Arch Capital Group relating to the sale of 29.5% of Coface's capital for €480 million. On the same day, Coface announced its new Build to Lead strategic plan which aims by 2023 to strengthen risk management and improve the group's commercial and operational efficiency. In July 2020, Coface finalized the acquisition of GIEK Kredittforsikring AS with the aim of strengthening its market position in Northern Europe. In 2021, the Group is present directly or indirectly in 100 countries. Activities Credit insurance When a company does a major business deal with a client, it risks insolvency or even bankruptcy if the client fails to pay within the agreed timeframe. Credit insurance helps companies avoid that risk.