France’s Coface has become the first international credit insurer to obtain a licence in Russia.

The FSSN, (the Russian state authority for insurance) delivered its licence to the Coface Rus Insurance company (a Coface subsidiary) based in Moscow on June 7.

Although Coface has been offering credit insurance in the region for the past four years as a result of a technical agreement with its local partner Kapital, this will be the first time that the ECA will be able to deliver its very own credit insurance offering.

According to a statement issued by Coface, the new institution will enable clients to access “an increased quality of service for clients, especially for Russian subsidiaries of international companies, notably French and German, and an easier access of Russian companies to Coface credit insurance expertise”.

Coface itself will benefit from an improved control of risks.

Didier Bourgeois, country manager for Russia comments: “Coface’s ambition is to become a market leader in trade receivables management in Russia, thanks to its worldwide presence, deep knowledge of local risks and large ‘bouquet of services’ offered to Russian and international customers.”

This new licence widens Coface’s presence in Russia, which now offers its own complete trade receivables management offering. There are currently 60 people working in Coface’s headquarters based in Moscow and in the offices in St Petersburg.

Coface produces credit ratings on Russian companies, and recently took full control of its Russian rating company, buying back 100% of the shares. In April, Coface announced that Russia’s country risk rating (C) had been put under positive watch.