Finnvera's supply of credit insurance products simplifies - easier for companies to cover against export risks

Finnvera's Credit Risk Guarantee is renewed and it will replace the Export Receivables Guarantee and the former Credit Risk Guarantee. The change simplifies the use of credit insurance products and makes it easier for exporting companies to cover the risks of export transactions.

A Credit Risk Guarantee insures the guarantee holder against credit loss related to an export transaction.

The Credit Risk Guarantee covers the commercial risks arising from buyer’s inability or unwillingness to pay and/or risks due to cancellation of the delivery contract during the manufacturing period. The cancellation of the delivery must be independent of the exporter and contrary to the contract. The guarantee may also cover the political risk arising from the buyer's country and the sovereign risk when the State is the debtor or guarantor.

The Credit Risk Guarantee can be granted for single export transactions or for continuous deliveries. It is well suited to cover both short-term and medium/long-term export credit transactions.

Cover for subsidiaries’ exports possible

The new Credit Risk Guarantee includes cover for subsidiaries’ exports, where a Finnish company acts as a guarantee holder and its foreign subsidiaries act as exporters. Hence, Finnvera is able to serve a wider range of exporters. Subsidiary exports can be covered by a credit risk guarantee in both short- and medium-term payment transactions on a case-by-case basis.

Changes to deadlines, granting extension to payment periods, and ordering of credit information

The terms of the Credit Risk Guarantee have been simplified and clarified with regard to late payment notification, export notification and credit limit expiration. For continuous exports, the export notification must be submitted for each calendar month by the 15th day of the following month, however before the due date of the reported export receivable.  Granting of extension to the term of payment always requires Finnvera's approval. In addition, in the future, Finnvera will itself order credit reports on all risk subjects.

 

	New terms	Old terms
Export notification, continuous export	by the 15th day of the month following the export, however before the due date of the reported receivable	Without delay/ by the 15th day of the month following the export
Export notification, single transaction	Within 5 days after the delivery	Without delay after the delivery
Notifications related to late payments, continuous export	Within 60 days of the due date	Within 14 days of the expiry of 60 days from the due date
Notifications related to late payments, single delivery	Within 30 days of the due date	Within 14 days of the expiry of 60 days from the due date

Changes from the financiers’ perspective

The reform also includes two different agreements on the transfer of right to indemnity. What is new is the transfer agreement for larger and more demanding transactions, where the bank's indemnification right depends only on the fulfillment of bank’s own obligations.

The Credit Risk Guarantee may act as security for the bank when the bank finances export receivables. The bank finances the exporter's receivables either by granting credit to the exporter (factoring) or by purchasing the receivables in accordance with the financing agreement concluded between the exporter and the bank. The arrangement enables the optimisation of the exporter's cash flow. The exporter must check with its own bank on the possibility of obtaining receivables financing.

The new Credit Risk Guarantee will be introduced in the autumn - does not require action from exporters

The new Credit Risk Guarantee will be phased in from October 2021 on, when new exporters will be granted  guarantees on new terms.

The existing guarantees for continuous export will be transferred to the new terms of the Credit Risk Guarantee, and Finnvera will be in contact with customers about the change during the rest of the year. Customers will receive a new guarantee agreement to sign. The change does not require any action from customers at this stage.

Pricing for the Credit Risk Guarantee remains unchanged.

Finnvera may temporarily grant new export guarantees with a short-term risk period until 31 December 2021 also to the so called marketable risk countries, i. e. EU-countries and other western industrialised countries.

Additional information:

Product information about Finnvera's Credit Risk Guarantee