Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks

Founded in 2004, Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks (formerly known as Credimundi) specialises in highly customised underwriting for shorter-term credit risks in emerging and developing markets, principally on open account terms.

Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks covers risks both before and after delivery of the goods, and the risks of contract termination and/or non-payment of service contracts. Failure by the private debtor is also covered, i.e. protracted default, insolvency or other causes. In addition, cover is offered in case of payment failure by public sector debtors.

Apart from its main office in Brussels, Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks has branch offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy to be closer to markets, clients and business.

As a member of Credendo it is evident that we closely cooperate with the other members of our group to offer you the best solution to suit your needs. Our network also goes beyond the countries where we have branches.

But to increase even more the possibilities, we work with several partners all over the globe. Partners that understand our business and your needs. Partners we can rely on to offer you a solution. Our partners assist us on different levels: some provide us with input on companies worldwide, some help us to receive payments when needed and some can offer solutions to provide cover in jurisdictions for which we have no licence.  

And because we can only offer a product of relevance if we stay in touch with what the market offers, we combine all our information with insights from professional organisations for credit insurers and surety providers, for example as a member of Assuralia (Belgium) and ICISA (worldwide).

At Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks we are committed to providing the best service to our clients. We therefore continuously strive to have the right procedures and tools in place to ensure that we provide our services with all required diligence and professionalism, with respect for honesty and business ethics, compliance with any laws, rules, regulations and the best practices of our sector.

The authorities that supervise us

Our activities are regulated and supervised, so you may be interested to know that:

• we have obtained our license (N° 2385) to practice credit insurance (Branch 14) and surety (Branch 15) from the National Bank of Belgium, which is responsible for the so-called ‘prudential supervision’. The headquarters of the National Bank of Belgium are situated at: boulevard de Berlaimontlaan, 14, 1000 Brussels;
• we are also supervised by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) to ensure that we behave according to the rules safeguarding an honest insurance market.  The headquarters of FSMA are situated at: rue du Congresstraat, 12-14, 1000 Brussels;
• we have the ‘European Passport’ for all countries in the European Economic Area uniting all EU Member States and the three EEA EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) into an Internal Market governed by the same basic rules. This ‘European Passport’ enables us to conclude insurance policies with companies registered in the entire European Economic Area;
• for our branches in the UK, France, Germany and Italy, we also have contact with and are supervised by the local supervisory authorities.

Codes of conduct

To apply the best principles in this respect, the Executive Committee of Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks has adopted an internal Integrity Policy and a Code of Conduct containing the core principles which anyone working for the Company should adhere to as well internally within the Company as towards any other person who has a relationship with the Company, such as the group companies, clients, providers, employees and other business partners.

In accordance with the European MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) regulations and the provisions of the Belgian Act of 30 July 2013 to strengthen the protection of consumers of financial products and services, Credendo - Short-Term Non-EU Risks is dedicated to the interests of its clients in a loyal, fair and professional manner.

Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks has established a written policy regarding the management of possible conflicts of interest in delivering insurance services to its clients. You can find more details on this matter via this link.

Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks has also concluded cooperation agreements with registered insurance brokers. These agreements include the remunerations the brokers receive as counterpart for the services they delivered (broker fee).

You can find more details on this matter via this link.

Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks is a member of Assuralia, the association of Belgian and foreign insurers, active on the Belgian market. As a member of that association, Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks agreed to the ‘Code of Conduct of the Insurance Company’. Insurance companies want to comply with this set of rules with respect to all their stakeholders, namely clients, brokers, competitors, personnel, shareholders and regulators.

Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks supports the principles of the Code of Conduct Credit Insurance; this is a gentleman’s agreement between all concerned parties describing the principles that apply to the credit insurance sector. This document has no legal value, but it does promote more transparency, better communication, professionalisation of the sector and increased sustainability.

Internal control functions such as the Compliance function ensure and monitor that we:

• respect and apply all applicable legal and regulatory requirements,
• follow any codes of conduct that are relevant to our business;
• implement best practices in our procedures and activities; and
• stay true to our internal principles and values (laid down in our Integrity Policy).

What if you notice inappropriate behaviour or you are not satisfied with our service?

Although we aim to provide a service with all required diligence and professionalism, with respect for honesty and business ethics, compliance with any laws, rules, regulations and the best practices of our sector, there may be circumstances where you believe our behaviour was inappropriate or where you are not satisfied with our service.

We value your opinion, which will help us to improve our service and to resolve any compliance issues that may exist.

You can contact your usual contact person to let us know that you have noticed an issue or are not satisfied. If you feel that action is required on a higher level or that the issue is too sensitive to resolve with your normal contact person, you can contact our Compliance department directly (see below How to report a compliance issue or file a complaint?).

How to report a compliance issue or file a complaint?

To ensure that our Compliance function can treat the issue you reported or your complaint and find a suitable solution, we invite you to send us a description of the issue or complaint and include your contact details:

• by email:  compliance-stn@credendo.com
• by letter:  Credendo – Short-Term Non-EU Risks

Attn. The Compliance Officer
rue Montoyerstraat 3
BE-1000 Brussels

• by phone:  on 02/788.88.00 – ask to speak to the Compliance Officer

In order to improve our service and to remedy any problem or obstacle within the organisation, we invite you to submit your problem or complaint directly. We will always seek to examine it within a maximum period of 14 days. If this turns out to be impossible, we will notify you in time. In this case, we will communicate the reason for this delay and the period within which the handling of your file is likely to be completed.
If you are not satisfied with the final decision, you can also refer the matter to the Ombudsman of the insurance sector:

Ombudsman of the Insurance Sector
de Meeûssquare 35
BE-1000 Brussels
www.ombudsman.as