ATRADIUS BACK INTO PROFIT FOR 2003, HIT BY ITALIAN DEFAULTS

Netherlands-based credit insurer Atradius moved back into the black in 2003, posting a net gain of 17.5m euro, compared with a loss of 75.1m euro the previous year. CEO Wilfried Verstraete, who succeeded Paul-Henri Denieuil on May 1, said that the result was “an encouraging start” since the operation was spun off from its old parent Gerling. However, higher provisions in the Italian bonding sector, where guarantees are issued against default by a counterparty in a business transaction, caused net claims expenses to rise to 295.9m euro, up from 277.3m euro the year before. Mr Verstraete said that Atradius had tightened underwriting rules and ceased writing unprofitable bonding business there. Investment income was up from a loss of 50.3m euro in 2002 to a profit of 60.6m euro in 2003. The company aims this year to complete an internal legal restructuring that will lead to the creation of a single European insurance carrier based in the Netherlands.