The BUlletin is a bi-monthly digest of news, views and statistics from the global export credit and investment insurance industry, curated by the Berne Union.
It contains thought-pieces and high-level commentary, as well as regular data snapshots and member surveys, intended to provide a window into the industry for business partners across the world of trade and export finance
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This April edition puts claims and recoveries in focus ahead of our June specialist meeting, alongside other timely industry topics. Covering war and political disturbance claims, fictitious trades, critical minerals, and the adoption of AI tools, we explore how insurers and ECAs respond when complex risk becomes operational reality.
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Sustainability is no longer merely aspirational. It is reshaping finance, trade, and approaches to risk. In advance of the Berne Union / ICC Joint Sustainability Workshop in London (27-28 February), this edition of the BUlletin explores themes including unlocking green-driven investment for SMEs, aligning export and development finance for susta...
This October BUlletin explores how ECAs are incorporating ESG, climate, and sustainability considerations into their mandates. Topics include climate risk management models used in building resilient portfolios, the challenges of attracting renewable energy investments in Africa, innovative partnerships for sustainable projects, and support for ...
This July edition of the BUlletin presents diverse insights from the evolving edge of global finance and trade. Industry experts explore timely topics including the powerful synergy between factoring and credit insurance, the impact of Basel IV, and ECAs as drivers of global trade. SINOSURE’s digital transformation and its tailored measures for...
Charting a course forward: Navigating AI, digitalisation, and economic support amidst unprecedented global change
This May edition of the BUlletin offers fresh insights on embracing and implementing digital strategies, adopting AI tools to enhance efficiency and security, supporting the Ukrainian economy by helping keep trade...
Celebrating 90 years of supporting trade and investment - 1934 - 2024
Reflecting on Berne Union’s origins and celebrating its achievements. What does the future hold?
Climate Working Group: The continuing momentum for change
The Berne Union’s Climate Working Group is proving a helpful forum for sharing good practice. How is it progressing, and how can our industry continue to help with this initiative?
Controling Chaos, and Risk Versus Reality
In this edition we explore BU claims data and its relation to predicting risk since the pandemic, we also feature a broker's eye view of the state of the CPRI market, the bold restructuring of Denmark's investment and export financing with EIFO, how EDC is looking at ESG risks and ...
Landmark modernisation for OECD Arrangement
A bold agreement for the Arrangement marks a positive development for our industry. Also featuring
digital access to export finance for China SMEs, challenging the 'China debt trap' narrative for Africa,
insolvency trends, analysing service ...
What's on the horizon for 2023?
The pick of key issues to look out for in 2023 – from macro trends, potentially choppy seas for smaller ECAs, possibilities for using Islamic finance in the renewable energy transition, China’s reopening, a bumpy CPRI outlook, and reinsurance complexities.
Authors look at...
Digitalisation as a business leadership imperative
Technology-driven trade and client interaction are nothing new. But increasing investment in digitalisation of fundamental business processes and decision making is driving a new way of looking at trade finance and risk underwriting. Authors highlight successes and challen...
Mobilising Africa's Potential
Despite the challenges there are many positive opportunities emerging for Africa today
Curated by the BU Sub-Saharan Africa Working Group, authors for this special edition of the BUlletin explore areas of growth and the role of different sources of international finance tapping this
Ripples and After-effects
exploring the multiple secondary impacts of both the pandemic and the war in Ukraine
from sovereign risk in Africa, to energy security, political violence and the private CPRI market
Shocks and short-circuits: The re-wiring of global trade
The bright shoots of economic growth are under threat once again
Assailed by commodity supply shocks and political instability exacerbated by the war in Ukraine
Contributors this month look at the complex impacts on trade and investment across developed and...
Some predict that 2022 may finally bring us beyond the thrall of the COVID-19 pandemic
But the events of past two years have brought significant divergence of risk across economic and geographic boundaries
Authors this month look at how this is playing out in a range of cases
If the global economy is truly on the road to recovery how can we build the surest path to sustainable growth in our new net-zero world?
New foundations in tech, data, and cooperative frameworks may help guide us into the next phase
Now widely recognised as an economic as well as environmental imperative
The momentum to tackle climate change is building
Changing perspectives, policy, products and processes across the export credit industry
Where is the avalanche of claims and insolvencies expected to emerge from COVID-19?
The picture so far is uneven across geographies, sectors and business lines
And for the future? Well, it depends...
The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Africa has been considerable and the path of recovery depends on maintaining the support of local, regional and international stakeholders. But which approaches can best build upon the opportunities presented by growing intra-regional trade, and investment in sustainable infrastructure?
With the wounds of the pandemic still under triage, a rebound in trade could the best hope for governments and businesses alike.
But trade is under immense pressure from myriad directions.
How can we maintain supply of finance, in the face of growing demand and irregular patterns of risk?
Exploring the macro forces impacting trade, 2019 H1 Industry Data Snapshot + Analysis of the Economic Outlook for 2020
This edition of the BUlletin juxtaposes themes of change and disorder with the celebration of a number of institutional anniversaries, symbolic of endurance.
• The new dynamics of 'trade in flux' • 100 years of UKEF • ICIEC on Partnerships for Development • Sector Spotlight: Shipping (GIEK) and Pharma (SE...
Export Credit and Investment Insurance, Today and Tomorrow
We can see the seeds of the future in digitalisation, automation, applications of block-chain, or machine learning. But what will it mean in practice?
Is international financing on target?
This edition of the BUlletin addresses the evolving role of various international financial institutions in generating sufficient risk capital for development projects and in particular investment in critical infrastructure and renewable energy.
Also featuring review of Bern...
Spring Periodical with 2018 Year end statistics and commentary, plus results of the 2019 'State of the Industry Survey', conducted jointly with ICISA.
Berne Union Members covered a record USD 2.48 trillion of new business in 2018. At the same time, claims remained elevated at over USD 6 billion, for the forth consecutive year....
Innovations in trade technology, e-commerce and insuretech | Rethinking local currency | LMA's new buyer credit facility
Contributors this month explore diverse themes of innovation, from the foundations of trade in the form of smart ledgers through to new approaches to supporting e-commerce exports and the potential...
IWG | 2H 2018 Risk Outlook | Trade Wars | Regulation and more...
Contributors to the July BUlletin explore the development of a new era in export credit, through the lens of proceedings at the IWG; trade wars; sustainability and export finance regulation
Themes for this month focus on:
Linking Trade and Economic Growth / Collaborative approaches to Sustainable Development /Wind Financing / Digital Innovation / Venezuela /
By all accounts 2017 was an excellent year for Berne Union members
who once again made a tremendous positive impact on global cross-border trade and investment - providing a record USD 2.35 trillion in cover for cross-border trade and investment and now supporting 14% of total worldwide exports.
"small business to big infrastructure – local currency to global economic policy"
Themes for September span the full scale of international finance in a bumper edition, with a selection of 12 articles from Berne Union members and industry experts, painting a telling picture of the relative pressures and priorities in ...
"New Horizons: Changing Markets, Evolving Approaches"
This month’s contributors examine three economies seemingly at turning points – Argentina, Iran and the Côte d’Ivoire – considering in each case the forces actively influencing the trade environment and the approach of the financial ...
"10 years of SERV, SMEs and Africa"
Commentators this month focus on support for small businesses, local contractors and risk in Africa - including energy sector and analysis of the Mozambique debt crisis. Detailed BU Data Snapshot on Africa and a member survey on approaches to SMEs set the scene...
"Claims, Pricing and Regulation"
The first edition of the BUlletin kicks off with a 'State of the Industry' review from Berne Union Secretary General, Vinco David, where he considers three factors which could disrupt the status quo for the export credit and investment insurance industry...