Nearly 40% of Respondents of Atradius Survey Expect Economic Crisis to End in H1 2010

Recession has had Mixed Impact on Cash Flow

AMSTERDAM, November 25 - 38% of respondents of an Atradius survey looking at the impact of the
recession on business in 20 countries expect the economic crisis to end in
H1 2010 with 45% anticipating a rebound in business within the same time
frame. In both cases more than 60% of respondents expect the crisis to end by
year end 2010. The responses are fairly consistent with, if not slightly more
cautious than, IMF estimates which signal an end of the recession occurring
early in 2010. Despite this, there remain significant concerns about business
failures, particularly in distressed industries and the financial services
sector.

The Atradius survey, assessed the opinions of 3500 executives and senior
managers from companies in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia about
their views various economic indicators, expectations of business failures,
the value of government actions to stimulate the economy, changes in their
use of various risk mitigation instruments and the impact of various factors
on cash flow during the economic crisis.

Overall, government attempts to stimulate the economy are considered to
have had a limited impact in most countries. In 17 of the 20 countries
surveyed, more than 40% of respondents have experienced no impact from
government initiatives to stimulate the economy. More than 10% of respondents
in half of the countries have not even noticed that the government has made
any initiatives. What respondents are most interested in seeing from the
government are the introduction of more tax cuts or tax incentives and a
reduction in interest rates.

In general it is expected that cash flow would suffer during the
recession, however when looking at it in relationship to specific factors,
there are just as many factors that have produced an increase in cash flow as
have produced a decrease. The accessibility of financing, availability of
credit from suppliers and the number of customers are more likely to have
resulted in a decrease in cash flow suggesting declines in these factors.
Changes in cash sales, the length of time within which customers pay and the
availability of credit insurance have resulted in an increase in cash flow,
suggesting an increase in cash sales and advance payments and an increase in
the focus on receivables management.

On average, there is a greater tendency across most countries surveyed to
increase the use of risk mitigation instruments than to decrease use. This
holds true for the use of credit insurance, and not credit forms of risk
limitation. Most notably, respondents have stepped up the frequency with
which they check the creditworthiness of their buyers.

In addition, businesses are paying greater attention to sales and cost
issues. Finding new markets or sales channels for products and a heightened
focus on customer service have been essential elements of business continuity
as have gaining access to financing and reviews of staffing levels.

Isidoro Unda, CEO of Atradius N.V., stated; "The recession has had a big
impact on the way many companies are doing business. Although some of the
results of the survey suggest the opposite result than might be expected,
they do show that businesses are paying more attention to managing their
business risks and as a result, in many cases, they have been able to improve
the performance of their business. Despite this, the short term sentiment of
respondents remains cautious and generally pessimistic, particularly when it
comes to business failures. As a leading credit insurer operating in more
than 40 countries worldwide, these observations are fairly consistent with
what we are encountering on a daily business."

The "Atradius Global Economic Crisis Survey", can be downloaded from
www.atradius.com

About Atradius:

The Atradius Group provides trade credit insurance, surety and
collections services worldwide, and has a presence in 42 countries. Its
products and services aim to reduce its customers' exposure to buyers who
fail to pay for the products and services they buy. With total revenues of
more than EUR 1.8 billion and a 31% share of the global trade credit
insurance market, its products help protect companies throughout the world
from payment risks associated with selling products and services on credit.
With 160 offices, it has access to credit information on 52 million companies
worldwide and makes more than 22,000 trade credit limit decisions daily.

For further information: Atradius Corporate Communications, Christine Gerryn,
Tel: +31-20-553 -2047, E-mail: christine.gerryn at atradius.com