Outsourced Debt Collections Industry Maintains Strong Profile and Effectiveness

Businesses More Likely to use Debt Collections Agencies for International Debts

AMSTERDAM, June 14, 2010 - The latest "Global Collections Review" survey undertaken by leading
credit management and collections specialist Atradius Collections, assessed
the current commercial debt collection trends and practices with more than
1,700 companies in nine European countries. This second study, builds on the
findings from the initial research released in January 2010, focusing on the
use of debt collections services and the number of days that international
and domestic debts are overdue, as well as the nature of the criteria used
to select an external agency and factors that may discourage companies from
outsourcing their outstanding debts.

One of the key findings from the latest Global Collections Review shows
that external debt collections agencies are used to collect international
debts by more than half (53%) of companies using outsourced debt collection
services to help improve cash flow and increase liquidity.

Of all the companies surveyed, more than half of those in the Netherlands
and Sweden are using external debt collections agencies, which is well in
excess of the European average of around one-third. Interestingly, these two
countries also returned figures of less than half of the European average on
domestic receivables more than 90 days overdue, with similar results for
international debts.

The effectiveness of external debt collections agencies and their
abilities to deliver results topped the list of why European businesses
choose to take on such an external agency. When asked to rank a series of
eight criteria, 'success rate' was regarded as most important with 'price'
rated as only of secondary importance, followed by 'reputation', 'the ability
to maintain a positive relationship' and 'local knowledge'. In addition to
these general trends, some interesting preferences can be spotted in some
countries. Businesses in Italy, ranked 'reputation' as more important than
'success rate', while businesses in Germany rated an agency's 'ability to
maintain a positive relationship with the debtor' the highest of any country
surveyed.

Raymond van der Loos, Managing Director of Atradius Collections
explained: "For many businesses the recession and the need for liquidity were
key factors in deciding to use an external debt collections agency, which was
reflected in the findings from our original study six months ago. Our new
Review provides some clear evidence that this development is continuing and
as a result of the successes that have been delivered by external debt
collections agencies, it is now the dominant method in some countries."

He added: "This new study also identifies some interesting attitudinal,
cultural and geographic differences, which help us ensure we deliver a high
quality local service in a global market. Also, the question of maintaining
positive relationships with debtors, raised by businesses in Germany in
particular, has never been an issue for us as in our own regular customer
satisfaction surveys, more than 90% of customers say that we maintain
positive relationships."

Among the five reasons for not outsourcing debt collections, 'lack of
trust in the success of the outsourcing party' came low on the list at fourth
with 'cost' ranked only one place higher. This indicates that the debt
collections industry is well regarded even by businesses that don't use
outsourced debt collections and that 'cost' is a relatively minor factor,
whether or not a company chooses to use an external debt collections agency.

The "Global Collections Review" survey was conducted among 1758
businesses across 9 countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great
Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden

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 19 offices and an extensive network of
collections specialists and lawyers worldwide, Atradius Collections serves
more than 12,000 customers and handles, on average, 100,000 cases a year.
Over 80 years of global credit management industry experience, uniquely
positions Atradius Collections as a worldwide leader in business-to-business
debt collections.

For further information, please contact: Jo Aaron, Atradius Corporate Communications UK and Ireland, +44(0)2920-824873 / +44(0)7768-233338, Joanne.aaron at atradius.com; Guido Minnaert, Atradius Collections Europe, +31(0)20-553-2978, guido.minnaert at atradius.com