Outsourced Debt Collections Industry Maintains Positive Image

Businesses More Likely to Increase use of Debt Collections Agencies as a Result of Economic Crisis

AMSTERDAM, January 18 - In its recent "Global Collections Review" of over 3,500 companies across
four continents, leading credit management and collections specialist
Atradius assessed business requirements for outsourcing business-to-business
collections services. The Review examines the impact of the economic crisis
on the use of outsourced collections, and gives insight into the criteria
businesses are likely to use to select a debt collection partner and factors
likely to discourage them from outsourcing their outstanding debts.

The Global Collections Review shows that as a result of the economic
crisis, businesses are more likely to have increased their use of outsourced
collections services in their efforts to improve cash flow and increase
liquidity. Of all countries surveyed, Belgium and the Netherlands stand out
with the highest percentage of companies increasing their use of outsourced
collections services (44% and 43% respectively).

Amongst 8 different criteria for selecting a collections agency,
businesses across all countries deemed the success rate of collections
efforts to be most important, followed by price, global expertise, local
knowledge and easy access to up-to-date information.

Raymond van der Loos, Managing Director of Atradius Collections
commented: "This Review gives an invaluable insight into how businesses
approach debt collections. Despite the expected similarities such as how
businesses assess success rates or intimate knowledge of in-country and
global collections landscapes, the survey also revealed many geographic and
cultural variations. It is our understanding and careful assessment of these,
as well as intimate knowledge of local legal systems and practices, which
enables Atradius Collections to deliver a truly local service in the global
trade environment."

One key finding was the difference in opinion when considering the
importance of the relationship with the debtor in appointing a collections
supplier. 47% of German respondents rated it as 'not important at all', while
53% of French companies said it was 'very important'. Another was the
additional services in the collection agency's portfolio, which proved
universally to be the least important factor in the selection of a debt
collections service provider.

Among the reasons for not outsourcing debt collections, the lowest
percentage of respondents selected 'no trust in the success of the
outsourcing party'. This finding was consistent throughout the majority of
surveyed countries, and leads to the conclusion that the outsourced debt
collections industry in general is perceived positively when it comes to its
ability to deliver expected results.

The "Global Collections Review" survey was conducted among 3,538
businesses across 20 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark,
France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Mexico,
USA.

The full Global Collections Review can be downloaded from
www.atradiuscollections.com

About Atradius Collections:

Atradius Collections, a business unit of Atradius Group, provides
efficient, quick and flexible solution to recover domestic and international
trade debts. With over 400 staff in 18 offices and an extensive network of
collections specialists, lawyers and insolvency practitioners worldwide,
Atradius Collections serves over 12,000 customers handling on average 100,000
cases a year. Over 80 years of global credit management industry experience
uniquely position Atradius Collections as a worldwide leader in
business-to-business debt collections.

www.atradiuscollections.com

For further information: Natasha Pearson, e-mail: natasha.pearson at atradius.com, +31-20-553-3028, Joanne Aaron, +44 (0)2920 824873, e-mail: joanne.aaron at atradius.com