Coface North America Responds to Strong Market Demand, Expanding Operations Throughout Major US Cities.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2001

@rating product suite builds momentum through nine-city

national roll-out

The Coface Group, the global leader in commercial risk management, today announced a large-scale expansion into the United States to promote the @rating product, the first worldwide, protectable rating system.

Leveraging 56 years of experience in credit risk management and the largest credit-risk database in the world, @rating represents a full suite of products protecting companies worldwide against the risk of non-payment. "Now, more than ever, the global marketplace demands a low-cost and easy-to-use benchmark of credit risk assessment," said Daniel Boccara, CEO and President of Coface North America, "We seek to establish @rating as a household name amongst U.S. companies of all sizes." Coface North America, a subsidiary of The Coface Group, has opened offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta, with plans to expand to Philadelphia, Houston and San Francisco this summer.

For the first time, companies can access a database of 35 million companies, a wealth of country-specific intelligence, and premier risk-management technology to assess credit risk and receive protection on any transaction, anywhere, anytime. "Standing apart from other solutions in the market, @rating puts its money where its mouth is -- Coface backs its ratings with trade-credit coverage, making it the first protectable rating in the marketplace," said Boccara. Via @rating, Coface becomes a convenient one-stop-shop for both buyers and sellers.

Increasing Liquidity for B2B Marketplaces

B2B market exchanges, for example, are now using the @rating product to increase volumes and average transaction size. "Through @rating, participants in our exchange can now check the creditworthiness of a business counterpart, then decide whether to buy coverage on that transaction - all in a fraction of a second," said Jerry ten Brink, CEO and President of GoTradeSeafood.com, the world's largest B2B exchange for seafood. "The result is far better marketplace liquidity," adds ten Brink.

Once a company obtains the @rating Quality Label - a formal assessment of a company's creditworthiness - it is made available free of charge via the World Wide Web to banks, suppliers, partners, customers, and any other interested party. All sensitive information divulged by a company for the purposes of a Quality Label is kept strictly confidential by Coface; the Quality Label is a numerical rating between one and five. By consulting the Quality Label, a company is able to determine the risk of a potential trade transaction with a business counterpart anywhere on earth. In fast-moving markets, on-the-fly assessment is essential to both sides of a transaction, for when credit applications are held in review, the rhythm of business quickly breaks down. "Before @rating, the process of extending credit to customers was costly and slow. Now, the information needed to make prudent credit decisions is just a click away," said Boccara "@rating can help company credit department to proactively support the company vision."

@rating provides these benefits:

Global standard in risk assessment. Universal benchmark, quantifying the credit-worthiness of global trade partners across numerous dimensions.

Unparalleled database. @ratings are generated from a database of 35 million companies in 220 countries, with a body of country-specific intelligence that has been 56 years in the making.

First protectable rating. Coface stands behind the validity of the @rating by offering trade-credit protection to suppliers based on a combination of ratings of both the buyer-company and the destination country of goods.

Demonstration of credit-worthiness. @rated buyers get credit from sellers under best conditions. As the firm's trade reputation is established, availability of supply partners increases in both international and domestic markets.

eCommerce risk mitigation. @rating facilitates trust and confidence in trading partners sourced from the World Wide Wed. The result: through real-time assessment and protection, @rating enhances the liquidity of B2B marketplaces, increasing the size and volume of transactions.

About Coface

The Coface Group is the world leader in trade-risk management, serving 70,000 clients in 93 countries worldwide. Leveraging 56 years of experience and a database of 130 million companies, The Group's products represent the global standard in assessing creditworthiness and protecting companies worldwide against the risk of non-payment. The Group offers access to three global networks, CreditAlliance, InfoAlliance and @rating, which are based on a common risk system for credit information and the use of common products and standards worldwide. The Group is listed on the Paris Bourse and its shares are included in the SBF 120 and Euronext 150 stock indices. For more information, please visit www.cofacerating.com.