Amsterdam-Madrid, 28 January 2008 – Atradius and Crédito y Caución, the world’s second and fourth largest credit insurers, today announced the completion of the transaction to combine their businesses. The credit insurance companies will together operate as part of the Atradius Group, providing credit insurance, surety / bonding, collections, credit information and other related products and services to customers in 40 countries across the globe.

Paul-Henri Denieuil, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Atradius N.V., commented: “This combination is something that both companies have envisaged since Crédito y Caución became an Atradius shareholder in 2003. Together, we look forward to leading the global credit insurance industry.”

Jesús Serra, Chairman of the Board of Crédito y Caución added: “We will now be able to capitalise on the combined strengths of both Crédito y Caución and Atradius to provide our customers with a more extensive breadth of coverage, specialised products that help them meet their specific insurance needs and first class service.”

Atradius has one of the world’s leading global credit insurance and collections platforms while Crédito y Caución leads in the Spanish and Portuguese markets. They will operate together as part of the Atradius Group but will maintain local brand names to ensure continued strong brand recognition.

Isidoro Unda, CEO of Atradius N.V. concluded: “Our customers are our most important concern and the priority of the new reinforced Atradius Group will always be to make sure their needs are addressed first. We have increased our financial strength and improved our value proposition and service capabilities including an enlarged presence, especially in Latin America.”

About Atradius:
Atradius is a leading credit insurer with total revenues of around EUR 1.3 billion and a 24% share of the world credit insurance market. It insures approximately EUR 400 billion of world trade annually against non-payment and provides a comprehensive range of risk transfer, collections and trade receivables management services. With 3,500 staff and more than 90 offices in 40 countries, Atradius has access to credit information on 45 million companies world-wide and makes more than 12,000 credit limit decisions daily. It is rated A (outlook stable) by Standard & Poor’s and A2 (outlook stable) by Moody’s.  

About Crédito y Caución: 
For over 75 years, through its credit and surety insurances, Crédito y Caución has contributed to the growth of companies offering them protection from insolvency and non-payment risks derived from credit sales of goods and services. With more than 70 offices, Crédito y Caución holds a market share in Spain of nearly 60%. Furthermore, it ranks second in Portugal with a market share of 34%, being therefore leader in its sector in the Iberian Market. The company recently expanded into Brazil. Its solvency is confirmed by its A and A2 Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s ratings, respectively.

The Atradius Group (after the combination):

The Atradius Group provides credit insurance, surety and collections services worldwide, and has a presence in 40 countries. Its products and services aim to reduce its customers’ exposure to buyers who fail to pay for the products and services they purchase. With total revenues of approximately EUR 1.8 billion and a 31% share of the global credit insurance market, its products contribute to the growth of companies throughout the world by protecting them from payment risks associated with selling products and services on credit. The Atradius Group annually insures around EUR 465 billion of world trade against non-payment. With 160 offices, it has access to credit information on 52 million companies worldwide and makes more than 22,000 credit limit decisions daily.

As from today, the new shareholder structure is as follow:

• 64.2% of shares owned by Grupo Compania Espanola de Crédito y Caución S.L.
• 25.0% of shares owned by Swiss Re
• 9.1% of shares owned by Deutsche Bank through its subsidiary DB Equity S.a.r.l.
• 1.7% of shares owned by Sal Oppenheim through its subsidiary Betrados B.V.

Further information: 

Atradius Corporate Communications - Jo Aaron 02920 824873 / 07768 233338

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Polhill Communications - Jenette Perry 0207 6550530 /07867 503553

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