Credit insurer Atradius is expanding its global presence, opening new branches in Bulgaria and Romania.

Effective immediately, the company will now be servicing its clients and business partners in the two countries from offices located in Sofia and Bucharest.

The branches will operate a sales and account management team that will be responsible for customer communications and support, as well as a risk analyst team, which will evaluate the default risk of Bulgarian and Romanian customers.

In a statement, Atradius’ chief market officer Andreas Tesch says the launch of the new branches was “the next logical step” in the company’s expansion strategy. He adds that Bulgaria and Romania are “among the most interesting growth markets in Europe” and “demonstrate great potential”.

According to Atradius, the market volume of Romania’s credit insurance industry currently amounts to approximately €24mn, with an average yearly growth rate of 10%. Bulgaria’s credit insurance industry’s market volume currently sits at around €6mn.

“We want to offer our customers the best service with the greatest possible expertise in the most significant markets,” says Thomas Langen, senior regional director for Germany, Central Europe and Eastern Europe at Atradius. “By opening the two new branches, we are not only strengthening our position in relation to local companies; it also puts us in a better position to accompany our international clients as they expand their operations in these markets.”

Atradius’ Romania office will be run by Franz Maier, general director for Austria, Hungary and South Eastern Europe. The Bulgarian branch will be headed by Markéta Stržínková, executive manager for Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Bulgaria.