Allianz Trade is an international insurance company that offers a range of services, including

trade credit insurance Trade credit insurance, business credit insurance, export credit insurance, or credit insurance is a type of insurance policy and a risk management product offered by private insurance companies and governmental export credit agencies to business ...

debt collection Debt collection or cash collection is the process of pursuing payments of money or other agreed-upon value owed to a creditor. The debtors may be individuals or businesses. An organization that specializes in debt collection is known as a coll ...

surety In finance, a surety , surety bond, or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a person or company (a ''sure ...

bonds and

guarantee A guarantee is a form of transaction in which one person, to obtain some trust, confidence or credit for another, agrees to be answerable for them. It may also designate a treaty through which claims, rights or possessions are secured. It is to ...

s, business fraud insurance and

political risk Political risk is a type of risk faced by investors, corporations, and governments that political decisions, events, or conditions will significantly affect the profitability of a business actor or the expected value of a given economic action. Po ...

protection. It monitors the financial health of over 80 million companies. It is a subsidiary of

Allianz SE Allianz SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...

. It is rated AA by

Standard and Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is cons ...

. Headquartered in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the company is present in more than 50 countries with more than 5,500 employees, and has a global market share of 34%. They posted a consolidated turnover of €2.9billion in 2021, and insured global business transactions representing €931billion in exposure.

History

Creation of credit insurers around the world

* 1883: ACI in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

* 1917: Hermes Kreditversicherungsbank in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* 1918: Trade Indemnity in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

* 1927: SFAC in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and SIAC in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

* 1929: COBAC in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Birth of Euler Hermes

SFAC acquired COBAC in 1993, followed by Trade Indemnity in 1996, and ACI and SIAC in 1998. During the same year, Allianz acquired AGF, a shareholder of SFAC. The holding Compagnie Financière SFAC was renamed Euler. From 2000, Euler was listed on the

Paris Stock Exchange Euronext Paris, formerly known as the Paris Bourse (), is a regulated securities trading venue in France. It is Europe's second largest stock exchange by market capitalization, behind the London Stock Exchange, as of December 2023. As of 2022, th ...

. Two years later in 2002, Euler acquired Hermes, the German market leader in

. In 2003, the Group and all its subsidiaries became Euler Hermes. Euler Hermes began to expand internationally in 2004, and opened offices in

Asia–Pacific The Asia–Pacific (APAC) also Known as Indo-Pacific is the region of the world adjoining the western Pacific Ocean. The region's precise boundaries vary depending on context, but countries and territories in Australasia, East Asia, and Southea ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

(

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

) between 2004 and 2009. In 2007, Euler Hermes increased its shareholding to 50% in COSEC, the market leader in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. In 2013, Solunion, a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between Euler Hermes and

MAPFRE Mapfre, S.A. (, officially typeset MAPFRE) is a Spanish multinational insurance company, based in Majadahonda, Madrid. The name comes from the old mutual origin of the company (''Mutualidad de la Agrupación de Propietarios de Fincas Rústica ...

, was created covering

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and Latin America. In the same year, Euler Hermes increased its shareholding in ICIC, a credit insurer in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, to 50%.

Joining the Allianz Group

In 2018, Allianz completed the acquisition of Euler Hermes's outstanding shares and Euler Hermes Group became fully owned by the Allianz Group. In March 2022, Euler Hermes changed its brand name to Allianz Trade.

Activities

Trade credit insurance

This is an

insurance policy In insurance, the insurance policy is a contract (generally a standard form contract) between the insurer and the policyholder, which determines the claim (legal), claims which the insurer is law, legally required to pay. In exchange for an initial ...

and a

risk management Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks, followed by the minimization, monitoring, and control of the impact or probability of those risks occurring. Risks can come from various sources (i.e, Threat (sec ...

product offered to companies to protect their

accounts receivable Accounts receivable, abbreviated as AR or A/R, are legally enforceable claims for payment held by a business for goods supplied or services rendered that customers have ordered but not paid for. The accounts receivable process involves customer on ...

s from loss due to

credit risk Credit risk is the chance that a borrower does not repay a loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay ...

. Should their customers become

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet in ...

or fall into protracted default, it includes

indemnification In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...

for the values of goods or services delivered. The policy could include a component of

political risk insurance Political risk insurance is a type of insurance that can be taken out by businesses, of any size, against political risk—the risk that revolution or other political conditions will result in a loss. Political risk insurance is available for seve ...

, which insures the risk of non-payment by foreign clients due to issues such as currency problems, political unrest and

expropriation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...

. Some policies also include

, which is the process of pursuing payment of debts owed by businesses.

Surety bonds and guarantees

A bond, or financial guarantee, protects the contractual obligations between businesses and a customer, supplier or partner. It is a contractual triangle relationship between the business, the surety bond company or

guarantor In finance, a surety , surety bond, or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a person or company (a ''sure ...

, and the third-party requiring the bond. The surety bond company or guarantor financially guarantees the third party that the business will abide by the terms established by the bond or guarantee. In the event of non-performance of the specified obligations, the surety bond company or guarantor is there to provide compensation for loss and damage.

Economic research

Ludovic Subran is the Chief Economist of Allianz, and Ana Boata is Director of Economic Research of Allianz Trade. The department's economic research team analyzes and anticipates international

economic trend Economic trend may refer to: *all the economic indicators that are the subject of economic forecasting **see also: econometrics *general trends in the economy, see: economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodologica ...

s and covers international commerce,

macroeconomics Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that deals with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. This includes regional, national, and global economies. Macroeconomists study topics such as output (econ ...

payment A payment is the tender of something of value, such as money or its equivalent, by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation or philanthropy desir ...

risks. The Economic Research Department updates its

country risk Country risk refers to the risk of investing or lending in a country, arising from possible changes in the business environment that may adversely affect operating profits or the value of assets in the country. For example, financial factors su ...

and sector risk ratings every quarter.

Board of management

* Aylin Somersan Coqui,

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and Chairperson of the Board of Management * Loeiz Limon-Duparcmeur, Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Member of Board of Management in charge of Finance and Tax. * Anil Berry, Member of Board of Management in charge of Market Management, Commercial and Distribution * Fabrice Desnos, Member of Board of Management in charge of Credit Intelligence, Reinsurance and Surety * Michael Eitelwein, Group

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

(COO), Member of Board of Management in charge of Operations and IT * Florence Lecoutre, Member of Board of Management in charge of Transformation,

Human Resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...

, Communication and

Environmental, Social, and Governance Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) is shorthand for an investing principle that prioritizes environmental issues, social issues, and corporate governance. Investing with ESG considerations is sometimes referred to as ''responsible inv ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Allianz Financial services companies established in 2002 Banks established in 2002 Insurance companies of France German brands Reinsurance companies